Billionaire Paul Allen has sold his interactive cable network, Tech TV to rival Comcast Corp., which plans to fold Tech TV into its G4 network, which is devoted exclusively to video games.  Currently Tech TV reaches some 43 million homes, while the G4 network has about 15 million subscribers.  Comcast, which recently offered some $45 billion for the Walt Disney Company, is the nation's largest cable system operator.  Allen reportedly sold Tech TV for some $300 million, which means he lost a bundle on the deal since he spent $320 million to acquire it some four years ago and has poured additional millions into expanding its coverage.

For anime and manga fans (and retailers) the key issue in the sale could be the fate of Tech TV's Anime Unleashed block, which has provided a great venue for anime on cable and satellite systems.  Tech TV has favored intelligent, science fiction flavored anime series including Crest of the Stars, Banner of the Stars, and Last Exile, to name a few of the series that made their American television debut on the network.