VICE Media Group

Disney Selling A+E Stake to Hearst for ~$1B

Hearst has agreed to buy The Walt Disney Company’s 50% stake in A+E Global Media for roughly $1.2 billion in cash, creating a wholly owned Hearst subsidiary. The transaction, reached after final negotiations, is expected to close in September 2026 subject to regulatory and customary closing conditions. A+E Global Media — owner of A&E, the History Channel suite, Lifetime and FYI — reaches about 414 million households across roughly 200 territories and distributes content in 40 languages; it is profitable, debt-free, controls a substantial programming library and operates A+E Studios. Paul Buccieri is expected to remain president and chairman and will report to Hearst CEO Steven R. Schwartz. The sale reflects declining linear TV viewership and Disney’s shift to prioritize streaming, parks and studios while giving Hearst unified control to monetize the library across FAST and international platforms.

Vox Media CRO Geoff Schiller named Screenvision CEO

Geoff Schiller, previously chief revenue officer at Vox Media, will become CEO of cinema ad network Screenvision, starting June 8, 2026. Schiller leaves the digital publishing sector after 25 years to lead Screenvision, where he plans to strengthen the company’s cinema-advertising position, deepen client relationships and leverage first-party audience data. Screenvision operates roughly 14,000 screens across about 2,300 U.S. theaters and has more than 150 employees. Schiller succeeds interim CEO Jeff Howe (in place since January 2026) after former CEO John Partilla stepped down. Industry consultants cited Schiller’s digital-media sales experience and advertiser/agency relationships as a strategic fit for Screenvision’s addressable video and data-driven opportunities.

Byron Allen Buys Controlling Stake in BuzzFeed for $120M

BuzzFeed agreed to sell a controlling 52% stake to Byron Allen’s Allen Family Digital in a $120 million deal (a $20M cash payment at closing plus $100M payable within five years). The transaction underscores a steep repricing of platform-era digital publishers after years of traffic and revenue decline: BuzzFeed’s ad revenue fell from $205.8M in 2021 to $91.7M in 2025, and unique visitors dropped from 164.8M (April 2021) to 50.9M (April 2026). Byron Allen will replace Jonah Peretti as CEO while Peretti will lead BuzzFeed’s AI division. Analysts position the deal as a distress-priced acquisition that buys brand, audience signals and first-party data rather than prior scale economics driven by social platforms.