Late last year, Ice Cube and LL Cool J announced their plans to team up to acquire nearly two dozen regional sports channels, and now, the pair have just gotten a major green light in the process.
According to a Feb. 22 report from TMZ, the two Hip-Hop legends received several billion dollar commitments from investors.
Disney is being forced to sell off 22 sports channels, including the YES Network, because the Justice Department determined that they had too much control and power in the sports TV landscape. Teaming up with Alex and Ani jewelry founder Carolyn Rafaelian, LL and Cube plan to bid on the channels, and with this new money, they have a large chance of winning.
Cube has already met with his group of private equity partners earlier this week to figure out their purchasing strategy. TMZ reports that should Cube and LL secure the networks, they plan to “run a full slate of content that caters to a younger audience because they believe there’s a hole in that market.”
Cube confirmed the news of his plans to cop a sports TV network with LL while also letting his plans to give sports-watchers a new experience known by saying. “It’s time for the world to get sports and culture presented to them in a fresh new way,”
Ice Cube is the co-founder of the BIG3 basketball tournament league. Recently, retired NBA player Gilbert Arenas announced that he will be joining the league for their upcoming third season. It will be interesting to see how this moves forward.
