Comcast Wins Option to Buy E!

Comcast Corp. has won the right to buy Time Warner Inc.’s controlling stake in cable’s E! Entertainment Television, the celebrity news network, for $321 million. Comcast, the nation’s fourth-largest cable company, said it should decide by early next month whether to proceed. Philadelphia-based Comcast is one of five cable operators that are partners in the network. Late last year, they kicked off the process for a change in ownership. E!, which is 58.4% owned by Time Warner, reaches more than 40 million cable subscribers. Comcast emerged after negotiations with the option to buy its stake, and said in a statement it is now deciding what to do. The other minority partners are Tele-Communications Inc.; Continental Cablevision, owned by US West Inc.; and Cox Communications Inc.