ViacomCBS in talks to buy stake in Miramax film library

ViacomCBS is on the verge of acquiring a minority stake in the film library for Miramax  which features such titles as Oscar winner “Shakespeare in Love,” the smash musical “Chicago,” and the comedy “Bridget Jones Diary.”

According to Deadline, the recently merged company is looking to invest $100 million in the 700 title library, which is currently owned by beIn Media, the Qatar-based sports and entertainment company. Most of the titles were produced under the ageis of company founders Bob and Harvey Weinstein, the latter now a Hollywood pariah and facing several sexual assault charges in New York. The Weinsteins sold the company to The Walt Disney Company in 1993 for $60 million. In 2005 the Weinsteins parted way with Disney.

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ViacomCBS’ movie studio -- Paramount Pictures – as part of the deal will provide financing to Miramax to develop new projects tied to titles in the library. Deadline says already there is “Silding Doors” TV series in develop and talks are under way for a series based on the critically acclaimed “No Country for Old Men.”

The deal could prove an asset for CBS’ streaming service, CBS All Access” which currently offers CBS Network shows on demand as well as a line-up of original such as “The Good Fight” and  the latest iteration of “Star Trek.”

The Miramax properties have bounced around since the Weinsteins formed the company in 1979. After the Disney relationship collapsed, Filmyard paid Disney $663 million for the library in 2010 and held on to it for six years before beIN bought it for an undisclosed price.

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This is a developing story