Disney and Hearst Look to Sell Channels Including A&E, Lifetime, and History

Linear TV channels have become the albatross of the entertainment industry. Now, Disney and Hearst are exploring a sale of their shared A+E Global Media portfolio. That includes A&E, History, Lifetime, LMN, fyi, and Vice TV. Any deal would include streaming rights to their libraries.

Right now, the A+E group operates streamers like Lifetime Movie Club, HISTORY Vault, and A&E Crime Central.

In the past year, Comcast created a standalone company called Versant to spin off most of its channels like USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, E!, Syfy, and Golf Channel.

And Warner Bros. Discovery announced it will follow with a spinoff company to house Discovery Channel, HGTV, CNN, TNT, TLC, Cartoon Network, Food Network, TBS, and Adult Swim.

It’s possible that Versant or “Warner Bros. Discovery Global Networks” could make a bid for the A+E group.

These channels are still fairly popular, even if live TV viewership is on a never-ending slide to oblivion. History was the 17th most-watched channel in 2024. A&E ranked 30th, Lifetime was 33rd, and LMN was 59th.

Disney certainly doesn’t need the networks. It already operates ABC, FX, Disney Channel, Disney Jr., Disney XD, ESPN, Freeform, National Geographic, and more. Hearst may be content to run its collection of local news stations (see graphic).