A&E takes over Lifetime

Disney/ABC, Hearst and NBC Universal announced Thursday an agreement for A&E to acquire Lifetime Entertainment Services.

The confirmation of the long-rumored purchase puts Abbe Raven, president and CEO of A&E, in charge of the combined company following the closing of the deal, which is expected to occur this year.

Lifetime president and CEO Andrea Wong will continue to head Lifetime and report to Raven. A&E and Biography president and GM Robert DeBitetto will continue to run his networks, while reporting to Raven, as will History Channel president and GM Nancy Dubuc.

The parent company will retain the name A&E Television Network, with its subsidiary retaining the name Lifetime Entertainment Services.

So AETN will now include: A&E Network, History, Lifetime Television, Lifetime Movie Network, Biography, History International, Lifetime Real Women, History en Español, Military History and Crime & Investigation Network.

Financial terms were not disclosed, but you wonder if they finalized the asking price before or after "Project Runway" had its massive debut last week. Presumably before...

From the release:

The new agreement will, upon closing, consolidate three of the nation’s top cable networks under single management while preserving the distinct brand identities of each network ... Combining the resources, libraries and multiple platforms of 10 brands, including more than 20 Web sites, the new company will be well positioned to create new opportunities for expansion and cross-promotion, as well as build upon the record of success and strengths across a broad variety of audiences, platforms and programming.  The combination of these businesses is also expected to yield substantial cost efficiencies.