Hearst Agrees to Acquire Majority Ownership of TV Program Producer and Distributor Litton Entertainment

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - January 06, 2017) - Hearst today announced it has agreed to acquire a majority interest in Litton Entertainment, which produces more than 800 hours of Emmy award-winning scripted and unscripted programming for broadcast networks and station groups each year. Litton Entertainment is a pioneer in educational-and-informational TV production and syndication and is a leading provider to networks in the family entertainment category.

The announcement was made by Hearst President and CEO Steven R. Swartz; Hearst Television President Jordan Wertlieb; and Litton Entertainment Founder, President and CEO Dave Morgan. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close by February 1.

"We've known Dave since the early days of his career with Hearst and have admired the first-class brand of Litton Entertainment that he and his team have built over the years," Wertlieb said. "Providing quality, family-friendly programming to viewers is an important tenet of Hearst Television and adding Litton's assets and expertise to our company through this partnership will be a terrific complement to our business."

"Litton is built on the standards of excellence I experienced during my time at Hearst," Morgan said. "I'm coming home to a company that delivers content that positively impacts the community, mirroring the pro-social principles we've innovated at Litton. Pete Sniderman and I deeply admire the leadership of Hearst. Together, we will do great things."

Litton Entertainment is headquartered in Charleston, S.C., with offices in New York, Boston and Burbank, Calif.

Richard Gray at ACF Investment Bank served as lead financial advisor to Litton Entertainment.

About Hearst

Hearst is one of the nation's largest diversified media, information and services companies with more than 360 businesses. Its major interests include ownership in cable television networks such as A&E, HISTORY, Lifetime and ESPN; majority ownership of global ratings agency Fitch Group; Hearst Health, a group of medical information and services businesses; 30 television stations such as WCVB-TV in Boston and KCRA-TV in Sacramento, Calif., which reach a combined 19 percent of U.S. viewers; newspapers such as the Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle and Albany Times Union, nearly 300 magazines around the world including Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper's BAZAAR and Car and Driver; digital services businesses such as iCrossing and KUBRA; and investments in emerging digital and video companies such as BuzzFeed, Vice, Complex Networks and AwesomenessTV. Follow us on Twitter @HearstLive and @Hearst, and subscribe to Hearstlink.

About Hearst Television

Hearst Television owns and operates local television and radio stations serving 26 media markets across 39 states reaching over 21 million U.S. television households. Through its partnership with nearly all of the major networks, Hearst Television distributes national content over nearly 70 video channels including programming from ABC, NBC, CBS, CW, MY Net, MeTV, This TV, Estrella and more. Hearst Television is recognized as one of the industry's premier companies, and has been honored with numerous awards for distinguished journalism, industry innovation, and community service. Hearst Television is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hearst.

About Litton Entertainment

Litton Entertainment is the preeminent independent producer and distributor in the U.S. television industry, creating and distributing quality programming for over 20 years with a specialty in educational and informational ("E/I") programming. Litton talent and crews can often be found on all five continents producing Emmy winning, rich and nutritious content distributed worldwide. Litton's Weekend Adventure, produced by Litton Studios, was the first program block of its kind and airs Saturdays on ABC stations nationwide. Litton Entertainment provides CBS Network with six original programs for Saturday mornings called CBS Dream Team: It's Epic!; The CW Network with One Magnificent Morning, a three-hour destination featuring E/I programming; and NBC stations with six original E/I series under the iconic brand The More You Know. Litton's syndication and news division distributes a diverse slate of programs including the new E/I block Go Time! and Consumer Reports TV. For more information, visit http://www.litton.tv.