AETN to Take Over Lifetime

NEW YORK/BURBANK: A&E Television Networks is to acquire Lifetime Entertainment Services, with the combined group to be led by AETN’s president and CEO, Abbe Raven, while Andrea Wong will remain in charge of Lifetime.

AETN is a three-way partnership between the Hearst Corporation, Disney/ABC Television Group and NBC Universal, while Lifetime is a 50-50 partnership between Hearst and Disney. Under the agreement, NBCU may elect or be required to exit AETN over a period of up to 15 years, in which event Disney and Hearst could become 50-50 owners of AETN.

The parent company will retain the name A&E Television Networks, with Lifetime Entertainment Services as a subsidiary. The transaction is expected to close this year. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Andrea Wong, the president and CEO of Lifetime Entertainment Services, will continue to head the Lifetime Networks and will report to Raven following the closing. Robert DeBitetto, the president and general manager of A&E Network and The Biography Channel, and Nancy Dubuc, the president and general manager of History and History International, will both continue to report to Raven.

The move consolidates three of the leading cable networks in the U.S. under one structure. The merged company’s brands will reach more than 250 million homes worldwide in 140-plus countries. AETN will now include: A&E Network, History, Lifetime Television, Lifetime Movie Network, Bio, History International, Lifetime Real Women, History en Español, Military History and Crime & Investigation Network. 

“Consolidating these networks puts a powerful portfolio of distinct brands under the strategic vision of one of the industry’s most innovative and effective leaders,” said Anne Sweeney, the co-chairman of Disney Media Networks and president of the Disney/ABC Television Group. “The new company will be much greater than the sum of its parts, positioning these brands for a new level of success and performance.”