Discovery Communications and Scripps Networks Interactive announce a definitive agreement for Discovery to acquire Scripps in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at $14.6 billion. The transaction is expected to close by early 2018.

A joint press release said the combined company “will produce approximately 8,000 hours of original programming annually, be home to approximately 300,000 hours of library content, and will generate a combined 7 billion short-form video streams monthly.”

Discovery’s brands include Discovery Channel, TLC, Investigation Discovery, Animal Planet, Science and Turbo/Velocity, as well as OWN in the U.S., Discovery Kids in Latin America, and Eurosport.

Scripps’ brands include HGTV, Food Network, Travel Channel, DIY Network, Cooking Channel and Great American Country, among others. Both companies are very active globally.

Both companies also have long been extremely active in licensing their brands into consumer products and services. Discovery last year brought in industry veteran Leigh Anne Brodsky Executive VP of Global Enterprises to head up its program. Scripps, on the other hand, for several years took a more decentralized approach to licensing, with significant programs including a Food Network direct-to-retail program (with Brandgenuity) and a broad HGTV effort (via Beanstalk) via multiple retailers such as Lowe’s and Bassett. More recently, though, Scripps has centralized much of its product and services licensing efforts.

Contacts:

Discovery Communications, Leigh Anne Brodsky, Executive VP, Discovery Global Enterprises, Leigh_Anne_Brodsky@discovery.com, 212-548-5837

Scripps Networks, Ron Feinbaum, SVP + GM, Consumer Products and Home Promotions, RFeinbaum@scrippsnetworks.com, 865-560-4804