CNBC is reporting that ABC parent company Disney is looking to exit its joint-venture with Univision over their ownership of Fusion. One scenario, according to the Financial Times, is that Univision would acquire Disney’s stake.
“We don’t comment on rumors or speculation,” was the response from spokespeople from both Fusion and Univision. We have reached out to Disney as well.
Fusion launched with much fanfare in October 2013. It would be ABC News’s answer to a 24-hour cable channel, while giving Univision access to the English-language market. Originally billed as a network for young Hispanics, Fusion shifted its focus to programming to millennials. As the TV channel has struggled to gain widespread distribution, and the hours produced for TV have dwindled, the company has homed in its digital offerings.
It relaunched Fusion.net this year and hired a slew of writers and editors. “We’re building Fusion into a dynamic, new type of media company—one built around the fact that a young, diverse, socially and culturally connected audience consumes content without borders,” Fusion boss Isaac Lee wrote in note announcing the digital hires.
On its 2-year anniversary in October, Lee told staffers the Fusion brand “is now reaching approximately 25 million people a month.”
Fusion is co-located with Univision News in a state-of-the-art facility in Doral, Fla., built expressly for the two news networks.
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