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Okay, so it turns out that Disney isn’t really built different after all. While its competitors got busy spinning off cable networks, Disney was championing its own cable portfolio—only to turn around and explore spinning some off anyway. According to a report from Variety, Disney and Hearst are exploring the sale of A+E Global Media, a cable portfolio that includes the A&E Network, History and Lifetime channels. Disney and Hearst share a 50-50 stake in A+E Global Media, and have reportedly retained the services of the investment banking arm of Wells Fargo to handle a potential sale process.
Inside sources tell the outlet “that there’s no certainty that A+E Global Media will be sold entirely or in part,” per Variety. Nevertheless, it’s a change of tune from what Disney CEO Bob Iger was saying earlier this year. “We actually are at a point where the linear networks at our company are not a burden at all. They’re actually an asset,” he claimed in February. “We are programming them, and we are funding them at levels that actually give us the ability to enhance our overall television business that obviously includes and leans into streaming, which, let’s face it, is really the future of the television business.”
Because A+E Global Media is shared with Hearst, it’s a bit different from Disney’s other linear offerings that the company owns wholly, and the networks aren’t fully integrated into Disney’s portfolio (they’re not offered on Disney+ the way National Geographic and ESPN are, for example). And Variety suggests that either Warner Bros. Discovery’s new, separate “Global Networks” entity or the Comcast cable spin-off Versant may be interested in buying A+E Global Media (or parts of A+E Global Media) as part of a new, standalone portfolio. The linear landscape—in danger of extinction amid the shift to streaming—is about to undergo some serious changes, so why shouldn’t Disney make a little cash in the transition?
