A+E Networks is rebranding to A+E Global Media and renaming its ad sales division to A+E Media Solutions, signaling the company aims to expand its scope beyond cable TV ahead of its annual upfront presentation to advertisers Wednesday.
A+E Media Solutions president Toby Byrne told TheWrap the name changes are a “better reflection of who we are as a company now and who we’re going to be going forward.”
“We are very much a multi-platform, global provider of entertainment. We believe in engaging content that is talent driven and that can be seen across platforms. We have really vast distribution endpoints well beyond linear,” Byrne said. “Everything we do is with the mindset that we are a full service content innovation team that looks to partner with brands to try to meet their needs in whatever their priorities are.”
The move comes on the heels of A+E launching a new digital division led by former Dow Jones executive Ann McGowan as it looks to diversify its business model and look for new ways to engage with audiences and advertisers.
The division will encompass dedicated brand sites with robust editorial content, YouTube channels, SVOD platforms including A&E Crime Central, History Vault and Lifetime Movie Club, short-form video creation, editorial newsletters and dozens of social handles across Instagram, X, Facebook and TikTok. Its first initiative will focus on an overhaul of History.com.
“It’s going to provide more short-form and editorial content, attracting larger audiences to our destination and additional platforms. The goal is to further expand both our content and consumption,” Byrne said.
A+E has over 70,000 distinct content assets, ranging from short-form to long-form, which reach more than 414 million households in 200 territories and 40 languages. In the U.S. specifically, Byrne noted that A+E’s multi-platform strategy reaches 60% of adults.
The Disney-Hearst joint venture’s portfolio includes the History Channel, Lifetime, LMN, FYI and Vice TV brands, scripted and factual production divisions and over 60 FAST channels. It also holds stakes in Range Media Partners and Propagate Content, which collectively represent more than 3,000 artists, athletes, directors, musicians, writers and producers.
Lifetime’s “Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard” was a top non-fiction cable series among women ages 25 to 64 in 2024, and “Gypsy Rose: Life After Lockup” was the brand’s fastest-growing new series in 10 years. Other non-fiction cable series from A+E that had strong performance in 2024 include “Lost U-Boats of WWII,” “Mountain Men: Alaska,” “Unbelievable with Dan Aykroyd,” and History Channel’s “Curse of Oak Island” and “Secret of Skinwalker Ranch.”
On YouTube, A+E content drove 4 billion views in 2024, a 31% increase year over year, and its recent “I’ll Be Home for National Margarita Day” ad campaign with Chili’s starring Maria Menounos and Taye Diggs has driven 5 billion impressions and over 34 million TikTok views.
But A+E Networks accounted for just a 1.1% share of total TV usage in January, according to Nielsen’s latest Media Distributor Gauge report.
“Every media company that reaches more has sports. In terms of positioning in the market, we’re in this spot where we can provide a complement to some of the larger companies,” Byrne said. “We’re not telling anyone not to invest there, they should, but as a complement to their sports buys, History is really compelling. It’s efficient and it reaches both a male and adult audience, especially light sports viewers or non-sports viewers in a really effective way and in a highly engaged way.”
In an annual letter to staff, Hearst CEO Steve Swartz warned that A+E was feeling the effects of a “tougher ad market, along with continued cord cutting.” When asked about demand from advertisers ahead of the upfront, Byrne said that there’s been “encouraging signs” compared to last year.
“This time last year, cancellation options were higher, they’re lower now,” he said. “Scatter was softer and is on more solid footing now and we’re seeing some encouraging trends there.”
A+E’s upcoming content slate for 2025-26 and partnerships includes a multi-series partnership with Tyler Perry Studios and Pantheon Media Group to produce unscripted projects; “The Judd Family: Truth Be Told,” centered on Naomi Judd and her daughters Wynonna and Ashley; WWE programming; “Storage Wars” Season 16; new series like “Willing to Flip” from Hello Sunshine for Home.Made.Nation; new shows for A&E like Million Dollar Zombie Flips,” “Beer Budget Reno” and “The Mother Flip”; new Lifetime movie “Give Me Back My Daughter” starring Gabourey Sidibe; History Channel shows starring David Duchovny and Henry Winkler; and more.
