Weather Channel sale: Is Gannett a bidder?

The corporate parent of The Weather Channel, plus The Virginian-Pilot and other newspapers, has suddenly put itself on the auction block. The move by privately-held Landmark Communications likely will renew questions about Gannett's own exit strategy.

The Weather Channel is a major jewel in Landmark's crown. In a story today, the Pilot notes that Weather Channel CEO Debora Wilson said in June: "Every media conglomeration has approached Landmark, and there's never been a yes." The Pilot says that, with its weather.com website, the Weather Channel and related properties "could bring more than $5 billion alone, a person close to the sale said." Landmark, based in Norfolk, Va., has long been controlled by the Batten family.

The New York Times says the channel is already attracting interest from some of the biggest names in media, including General Electric's NBC, News Corp. and cable company Comcast. In early trading today, Gannett shares were down more than 1%.

A $5 billion price tag would be pretty rich for Gannett, assuming it's been one of the "every'' media conglomerates Wilson referenced. On the other hand, GCI has shown an appetite for newspapers this year -- under the right circumstances. Some Landmark papers could fit Gannett's clustering strategy. For example, there's The News-Enterprise in Elizabethtown, Ky., just around the corner from GCI's Courier-Journal in Louisville.

This year, Gannett had a deal to buy two Connecticut newspapers from Tribune. But that plan collapsed in May when GCI learned it had to honor union contracts as part of the purchase.

[Image: Weather Channel; hat tip, Romenesko]