Hearst has announced an agreement to acquire The Walt Disney Co.’s 50% equity stake in A+E Global Media for approximately $1.2 billion in cash. The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in September, according to announcements from the companies.
Hearst Takes Full Control of A+E Global Media in $1.2 Billion Cash Deal
Upon the completion of the deal, A+E Global Media — formerly known as A&E Networks — will become a wholly owned business within Hearst’s entertainment group. The transaction caps a process that began last July, when Disney and Hearst retained Wells Fargo to explore a potential sale of the joint venture. The sale process started under former CEO Bob Iger and has been completed under new CEO Josh D’Amaro.
Paul Buccieri will continue to lead the company as president and chairman following the transaction, reporting to Hearst President and CEO Steven R. Swartz. Buccieri has led the media company since 2018.
Assets and Global Reach of the Media Venture
The acquisition brings a vast suite of established cable networks, content studios, and digital platforms under Hearst’s full control. The linear channels included in the agreement are A&E, the History Channel, Lifetime, the Lifetime Movie Network, FYI, and Vice TV.
Beyond traditional cable networks, the company encompasses production units and streaming offerings such as A+E Studios, A+E Factual Studio, A&E IndieFilms, A+E Global Media Digital, YouTube channels, and subscription video-on-demand services including Crime 360, Lifetime Movie Club, and History Vault. In addition, A+E Global holds stakes in various ventures, including Propagate, Range Media Partners, Vice Media, Atlas Obscura, and Philo TV.
A+E Global Media reaches more than 414 million households across 200 territories in 40 languages, boasting over 70,000 distinct content assets ranging from short-form to long-form programming.
Corporate History and Executive Perspectives
The corporate history of the media entity dates back to early 1984, when the Arts & Entertainment Network launched as a joint venture. Over the decades, ownership structures shifted. For its first 20 years, it was jointly owned by ABC, NBC, and Hearst. NBC obtained a minority stake in 1993, and Comcast later sold off that stake in 2011 following its acquisition of NBCUniversal to comply with federal merger conditions. Disney and Hearst had been equal 50-50 partners in the company since 2012.
Reflecting on the milestone, Swartz stated, We thank our Disney colleagues for decades of successful partnership,
adding that Hearst looks forward to supporting Paul Buccieri and A+E Global Media’s leadership team as they continue to make must-see programs and innovate around the great History, Lifetime and A&E brands.
Buccieri highlighted the company’s positioning for the future: In a media environment defined by fragmentation, A+E Global Media’s advantage is the strength and versatility of our brands, our strong partnerships and our vast library of owned assets. As we continue extending our storytelling globally across all platforms with IP that travels to every screen and form-factor, we believe we are well suited for whatever opportunities may come next.
Financial Health Amid Changing Pay-TV Landscape
Like much of the broader cable ecosystem, A+E Global has faced linear viewership declines and a shrinking core revenue base driven by cord-cutting and the rise of streaming options. Consequently, the venture no longer generates the same revenue contributions to Disney’s bottom line as it once did.
Despite these headwinds in linear television, A+E Global remains profitable and carries no debt. Industry observers attribute the company’s financial health in large part to strategic moves under Buccieri’s leadership, including early adoption of the FAST channel model and retaining a large portion of its content library. While Disney and Hearst also share a stake in ESPN — where Disney is the majority owner at 72% and Hearst owns approximately 18% — the ESPN partnership remains entirely separate and unaffected by the A+E Global Media transaction.
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