The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Television have retained a financial firm to help it explore a possible sale of its joint venture A+E Global Media, according to numerous trade reports on Tuesday.
The possible sale, which could be effectuate as a wholesale transaction or involve divvying up parts of A+E Global Media to different buyers, comes just a few months after Hearst CEO Steve Swartz told employees that the joint venture was looking at a “tough year” ahead amid lower advertising revenue and cord-cutting that has chipped away at distribution fees.
“Looking forward, the current environment and our early forecasts suggest it will be difficult to achieve another year of profit growth in 2025.,” Swartz affirmed. “Among the headwinds we face is a massive drop off in election advertising at our television stations, as the U.S. holds major elections every other year. This recurring and expected decline is accompanied by an increasingly competitive advertising market that challenges linear television with data-rich offerings from streaming platforms and social networks. The tougher ad market, along with continued cord cutting, is also significantly impacting A+E.”
Other companies have sought to divorce themselves from their linear cable TV networks over the past year, including Comcast (which is spinning out its cable networks, except Bravo, into a new company called Versant) and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD).
Disney and Hearst are still expected to retain their own broadcast and cable linear networks if A+E Global Media is sold to one or more buyers. Disney and Hearst also operate ESPN (with Disney holding a majority 80 percent stake in the sports network), while Disney also owns ABC, the Disney Channel, FX and National Geographic. Hearst owns a portfolio of local TV stations.
Variety was the first to report the news A+E Global Media’s possible sale. Officials from Disney, Hearst and A+E Global Media are not commenting on the report.
A+E Global media includes domestic cable networks A&E, the History Channel, Lifetime and Vice, as well as a robust library of reality-based TV shows, documentaries and low-budget, scripted movies (the latter of which is mostly associated with Lifetime). It also operates international networks, as well as several television-related properties like measurement firm Samba TV and a stake in streaming service Philo.
