Walt Disney Co. and Hearst Corp. are considering a sale of their A+E Global Media joint venture, which includes cable-TV channels such as History and Lifetime, according to a person familiar with the discussions, as published by Bloomberg today. Another source confirmed that Wells Fargo & Co. had been hired to handle the sale. Spokespeople for Disney and A+E declined to comment, while Hearst didn’t immediately respond.
The A+E business, which operates independently from its two parent companies, began as the Arts & Entertainment channel. It’s best known for reality-TV hits like "Duck Dynasty" and "Ice Road Truckers," which ran on the History channel. It has also diversified into making programs for others, like "The Lincoln Lawyer" on Netflix. A+E has over 70,000 distinct content assets, ranging from short-form to long-form, which reach more than 414 million households in 200 territories and 40 languages. In March, A+E Media Solutions president Toby Byrne told TheWrap that the company’s multi-platform strategy reaches 60% of U.S. adults. In addition to Lifetime and History Channel, the A+E Global Media portfolio comprises LMN, FYI, and Vice TV brands, as well as scripted and factual production divisions, and over 60 FAST channels. It also holds stakes in Range Media Partners and Propagate Content, which collectively represent more than 3,000 artists, athletes, directors, musicians, writers and producers.
A&E Global Media, which accounted for just 1% of TV viewership in May, according to Nielsen’s Media Distributor Gauge, does not disclose its quarterly financial results as a private company. But in an annual letter to staff, Hearst CEO Steve Swartz previously warned that A+E was feeling the effects of a “tougher ad market, along with continued cord-cutting.” When asked about demand from advertisers ahead of the upfront, Byrne said that there’s been “encouraging signs” compared to last year.
Cable networks have suffered from viewership and advertising losses as streaming services gain popularity and consumers cancel their cable subscriptions. Comcast Corp. is spinning off its cable networks, including MSNBC and CNBC, into a new business, while Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. has announced plans to separate its cable assets, which include CNN, TNT, and TBS.