• by Wayne Friedman , Yesterday

Signaling that its ownership of and investments in cable TV networks could be changing, Walt Disney is expected to sell its longtime 50% interest in A+E Global Media to Hearst, the other 50% joint owner, for more than $1 billion, according to reports.

The midsized cable TV network group -- including A&E Network, History Channel, Lifetime, Vice TV and others -- would now be 100% owned by Hearst. The deal is expected to be finalized at the same time as Disney’s quarterly earnings release on August 5.

Disney representatives did not respond to inquiries by Television News Daily by press time.

The move has media analysts wondering if there is more to come from Disney, especially under its new CEO Josh D’Amaro. He might be following in the footsteps of other legacy TV media companies such as Comcast Corp when it comes to spinning off TV networks.

“We firmly agree with Disney’s decision to reduce its linear TV exposure by exiting its 50% stake in A&E Networks,” says Richard Greenfield, media analyst at LightShed Partners.

Greenfield believes there could be more to come, saying: “We would love to see Disney completely exit linear TV.” Comcast Corp. has pursued this direction over the last two years.

Last month Comcast announced plans to spin off its NBCUniversal under a new publicly traded company.

Earlier this year, Comcast Corp. spun off a group of cable TV networks -- MS Now (formerly MSNBC), CNBC, USA Network, Golf Channel, Syfy, Oxygen, and E! -- under a new public company, Versant Media.

The company completed its spinoff at the beginning of this year; Comcast originally confirmed this decision back in October 2024.

Disney has asserted it would be moving in a different direction -- at least in part. “D’Amaro was crystal clear last quarter that Disney has no interest in separating ESPN and ABC from Disney," Greenfield said.

But he added: “Comcast was equally clear about NBCU as recently as January, and we know how quickly that changed. We believe Comcast ultimately spun NBCU because its stock was under pressure.”

Disney also has seen little movement in its stock price over the last 10 years or so.