Travel Channel to Focus on User-Gen Plays

Now that Cox Communications’ acquisition of the Travel Channel has been finalized, the niche network has begun gathering its hiking gear and poring over topographical maps, plotting an excursion that will lead it and its new owner beyond the well-trodden confines of the linear TV space. On May 14, Discovery Communications ceded control over Travel Channel, paying out $1.28 billion in cash for Cox’s 25 percent stake in DCI, while handing over the network’s passport and its related digital media assets. >>Full Story

Thoughts// A brief article that shows the continued interest in travel-related, user-generated content. While the offering sounds like it is still in the development stages, the idea of taking user-generated content to a semi-professional level via a 'video academy' is a new angle. However, simliar to the bud.tv article, how much clout does a brand such as Travel Channel have on UGC? And how much promotional value can the TV network create for such a venture?