Comcast sniffing out buyers for Fox's RSNs as it readies rival bid

Comcast has seen the conditions on Disney’s $71.1 billion bid for Fox, and it wants to have buyers lined up for Fox’s regional sports networks as it preps a rival bid.According to Reuters, Comcast is speaking with private equity firms including Blackstone and Apollo, as well as gauging interest from telecoms and media companies toward the RSNs, which could be worth as much as $20 billion. As the report points out, Comcast feels lining up a buyer (or buyers) for the 22 RSNs will help ease the regulatory review process.Of course, Disney is likely already doing the same. When the U.S. Justice Department granted Disney conditional approval to buy 21st Century Fox’s studio and cable channel assets, it gave Disney a minimum of 90 days (with the possibility of extending the deadline by another 90 days) after closing the Fox deal to secure a sale of the RSNs.