By Rimin Dutt

Media-focused buyout firm InterMedia Partners, LP has made a "significant investment" in the Sportsman Channel, a 24-hour television channel dedicated to hunting and fishing.??InterMedia Partners, LP approached Sportsman directly with the deal, said C. Michael Cooley, chief executive of Sportsman Channel. He would not disclose the exact size of the investment. ??A partner at InterMedia Partners, LP declined to comment on the deal, citing regulatory concerns. ??

The Sportsman Channel plans to use the private equity capital to boost its marketing efforts, expand its subscriber base and get more cable distribution deals, said Cooley. It will also look to buy hunting and fishing magazines to grow into a hunting "multimedia" company, he said.??

Its current customers include Comcast Corp., Time Warner Inc. and Adelphia Communications Corp. The channel has over 12.6 million broadcast and cable subscribers, and its advertisers include Cabela's Inc., a hunting and fishing goods retailer, Optima Batteries and Toyota Corp., said Cooley. ??

The company, Cooley said, is banking on the popularity of the hunting sport, the purchasing power of these hunters, and advertisers who want to target them. ??Sportsman had under $10 million in revenue in 2005 and is expected to have between $40 million and $50 million in annual revenue in the next five years, said Cooley. ??InterMedia is currently raising InterMedia Partners VII, LP, a $1 billion fund, which will invest in media and communications companies. The firm tapped the fund to make this investment.??

Reach Sportsman Channel at 262-662-3800.