ITV

Tag: Cable TV channel

  • A+E Global Media joins cable fire sale as Disney and Hearst weigh exit

    A+E Global Media joins cable fire sale as Disney and Hearst weigh exit

    MUMBAI: A+E Global Media, home to A&E, History and Lifetime, is up for grabs as Disney and Hearst are exploring a potential sale of their 50-50 joint venture, adding to the growing list of cable assets being spun off or dumped in a rapidly fragmenting media landscape.

    The duo have roped in Wells Fargo to explore strategic options for the privately held firm, which rebranded earlier this year from A+E Networks. International media reports quote sources saying that  a full or partial sale is on the cards, though no deal is guaranteed. The move comes amid a broader industry pivot, with NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery already planning to cleave off large chunks of their legacy cable businesses.

    NBCU’s new entity Versant will house MSNBC, CNBC, USA Network and others, while WBD is prepping a 2026 split of its linear networks, including CNN, TNT, TBS, Discovery and HGTV. A+E’s roster—spanning Lifetime Movie Network, FYI, Vice TV, and a fleet of Fast and AVOD services—could make for a tasty bolt-on to either portfolio.

    While A+E continues to throw off cash, it’s not immune to cable’s cord-cutting crisis. Subscriber counts are down to around 58 million per brand, well off their peak, and Disney’s reported equity income from the venture plunged to $207 million in FY24 from $575 million the year prior. That said, the company’s content firepower remains formidable—with deep libraries, active Fast rollouts, and global syndication in nearly 200 markets.
    Under president Paul Buccieri, A+E has bucked some trends by doubling down on original movies for Lifetime and blockbuster docs for History. But the shift is unmistakable: legacy players are slimming down, linear is losing lustre, and media conglomerates are reshuffling the deck for a streaming-first world.

    Disney boss Bob Iger has flirted with calling linear TV “non-core” in the past but ultimately decided to hold on to ESPN, ABC and FX as content engines for Disney+ and Hulu. A+E, however, has long remained outside the mouse house’s main orbit—making it a prime candidate for offloading.

    No price tag has been floated, and reps for Disney, Hearst, A+E and Wells Fargo have declined to comment. But the timing is telling. With Versant aiming to close by end-2025, and WBD’s split targeted for mid-2026, A+E could be the next tile to shift in a fast-moving game of cable consolidation.

    Indian media observers may recollect that the Reliance group has a 51 per cent majority-owned joint venture AETN18 , now called A+E Networks India. The company operates the infotainment channel History TV18 and had, until 2020 , run the lifestyle channels of FYI TV18. How the potential sale of the global media company will affect the Indian joint venture is not known at the time of writing.  So keep watching this space.

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  • Cable TV channel sues Time Warner, Comcast

    Cable TV channel sues Time Warner, Comcast

    MUMBAI: Heathrow based The America Channel (TAC), which is yet to start beaming, has sued cable conglomerates Time Warner Inc. and Comcast Corp. in an attempt block their $16.9 billion planned acquisition of bankrupt Adelphia Communications Corp.

    A startup niche cable channel, TAC has filed the lawsuit because the two cable companies have allegedly refused to sign carriage deals with it.

    In its lawsuit TAC claims that the deal violates federal antitrust laws and will reduce competition in the cable television industry.

    Comcast and Time Warner last year jointly agreed to acquire Adelphia and divide its systems among the two of them.

    The lawsuit accuses Time Warner and Comcast of scheming to monopolize local cable systems and of using their monopoly to refuse to deal with independent networks such as TAC, thus making it virtually impossible for unaffiliated networks to get access to cable subscribers.

    The lawsuit also accuses the duo of price-fixing and bid-rigging in their submission of a joint bid instead of competing against each other to acquire Adelphia’s assets.

    A Time Warner spokesperson was quoted in a media report as saying, “The allegations in this complaint are entirely frivolous, and we are confident that this matter will not impede closing of the Adelphia transaction.”

    TAC attorney Joseph Alioto, on the other hand, said that the two big operators freeze out independent channels like TAC because the independents produce programmes that compete against their own offerings.

    Alioto also said that besides seeking an injunction to block the Adelphia deal, TAC would also be seeking monetary compensation of around $1 billion.

    TAC plans to launch late this year and reached an agreement in April with telecommunications company BT Americas that will make it available to 50 million homes in Europe and the Middle East with satellite TV.

    The federal trade commission has already reviewed the case on anti-trust concerns. According to a media report, Alioto has asked for a jury trial and is hopeful of having the case heard before the deal is scheduled to be completed on 31 July.

    As per the report, if the deal fails to close by 31 July, Comcast and Time Warner could walk away and perhaps collect a $440 million termination fee.

    Founded in January 2003, TAC describes itself in the suit as “a new 24-hour, seven-day-a-week niche entertainment programming channel that explores and celebrates America in the 21st Century.”