Diddy Reportedly Bid $200 Million For Fuse TV Network

Diddy wants to expand his empire.

After rising to fame as a rapper, the musician originally known as Sean Combs has since gone on to found fashion lines such as Sean Jean, a nearly $1 billion Ciroc liquor company, and media businesses, including Revolt TV - a new music cable network "dedicated to the creators of this generation."

Bloomberg reports that Diddy recently bid $200 million to purchase the similar Fuse cable-TV channel, owned by Madison Square Garden Co, with the plan of converting it to Revolt.

As Bloomberg reports:

With the purchase, Revolt TV would gain wider distribution and higher subscriber fees, one person said. Fuse is available in about 74 million homes through pay-TV systems including DirecTV (DTV), Dish Network Corp. (DISH) and Cablevision Systems Corp. (CVC), compared with Revolt TV, which reaches about 22.8 million homes and is carried by Comcast and Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC), according to researcher SNL Kagan.

Fuse's most popular shows include "Billy On The Street," "Big Freedia: Queen of Bounce," and the network often broadcasts live concerts and music specials.

Diddy is just one of several bidders for the music-focused TV network, according to one of Bloomberg's three sources on the story.

A spokeswoman for Madison Square Garden Co. would not confirm the bid, simply stating, "We are exploring strategic alternatives for Fuse, and will have no further comment during what is still an ongoing process."

A rep for the rapper declined to comment on the report.

But Diddy's $200 million may be a lowball offer. Bloomberg said MSG has been seeking about $400 million for Fuse.

In 2013, Al Jazeera acquired Current TV for about $500 million. Current TV reached about 60 million U.S. homes, while Fuse's reach extends to 74 million homes.