CBS’ $350 million Mother?

For a sitcom that was dangling between renewal and cancellation last spring, CBS’ How I Met Your Mother is set to pay off in a big way shortly. Bidding has opened up for the syndication package on the show, which starts season four a week from tonight on September 22, and some industry analysts are predicting that with a number of bidders clamoring for the rights, the show could garner as high as $350 million.

The most high-profile bidders include Tribune Media, CBS and Fox. Twentieth TV produces the sitcom, which stars Josh Radnor, Allyson Hannigan, Neil Patrick Harris and Cobie Smulders as four friends living in New York City, and is the tale of how Radnor’s character met the mother of his children.

Despite the growing popularity of digital downloads that can be stored on a hard drive and DVD complete season collections, there’s still plenty of money to be found in syndication deals; the winning bidder could be announced Wednesday, and the syndication deal, once in place, could help stabilize the future of the show for the next few seasons.