Who owns Acorn TV in 2025? All the details

Acorn TV is a British-American streaming service famous for distributing British entertainment content. It has been around for a while, but has become a major player in the streaming market in recent years.

But who owns Acorn TV? As of 2025, the streaming service is owned by the American entertainment corporation, AMC Networks. However, this was not always the case.

Below is everything you need to know about Acorn TV, from the company’s history to ownership changes over the years, and other interesting facts.

Acorn TV ownership history

Acorn TV (the streaming service) was launched in 2011, but the company behind it, Acorn Media Group, has been around since 1984.

The company (Acorn Media Group) used to distribute home video products to the UK and American markets. It started by selling VHS tapes before transitioning to DVDs and Blu-ray discs, then expanding to the streaming market with Acorn TV.

Acorn TV’s ownership changed hands in 2012, when RLJ Companies (an American asset management company owned by Robert Louis Johnson) bought Acorn Media.

RLJ Companies also acquired Image Entertainment, which merged with Acorn Media Group to form RLJ Entertainment.

The acquisition saw Acorn TV become a subsidiary of RLJ Entertainment, with RLJ Companies owning the streaming service.

In 2016, AMC Networks started investing in RLJ Entertainment after offering $65 million in loans. As part of the investment, AMC Network received a guarantee to acquire 50.1% of RLJ Entertainment’s common stock.

 In 2018, AMC Networks moved to acquire a majority stake in RLJ Entertainment by purchasing outstanding shares it did not own or those owned by Robert L. Johnson through RLJ Companies.

Following the acquisition, AMC Networks became the majority shareholder with an 83% stake in RLJ Entertainment, with Robert L. Johnson 17% minority stake through RLJ Companies.

Consequently, RLJ Entertainment became a minority subsidiary of AMC Networks.

Who owns Acorn TV in 2025?

As of 2025, Acorn TV is owned by RLJ Entertainment, a subsidiary of AMC Networks. RLJ Companies also owns a minority stake in RLJE Entertainment and, consequently, Acorn TV.

Below is a detailed look at the ownership of these two companies – AMC Networks and RLJ Companies.

AMC Networks shareholders

AMC Networks is a publicly traded company founded in 2011. It is a predecessor to the now-defunct Rainbow Media Holdings, LLC, whose history dates back to 1980.

Rainbow Media was launched in 1980 as a joint venture between four cable television companies: Cablevision, Cox Communications, Comcast, and Daniel & Associates.

Over the next few years, Comcast, Cox Communications, and Daniel & Associates left the partnership, leaving Cablevision as the sole owner of Rainbow Media.

In 1984, Rainbow Media launched the American Movie Classics channel, now known as AMC. Shortly afterwards, Cablevision entered into a 50-50 partnership agreement with CBS to jointly own Rainbow Media. 

Cablevision and CBS parted ways in 1987, before the former entered a new 50-50 partnership with NBC to own Rainbow Media. The partnership continued until 1997, when NBC reduced its stake in Rabow to 30%.

In 2011, Cablevision launched AMC Networks as a spin-off of Rainbow Media, with AMC Networks acquiring all of Rainbow Media’s assets.

As of 2025, AMC Networks is a publicly owned company, with the majority of the company’s shares (Class A Common Stock) owned by institutional investors. The most notable of these shareholders include:

• RWWM, Inc. – 10 %   
• BlackRock Advisors LL – 9.507 %
• Barclays Bank Plc – 5.835 %
• Vanguard Fiduciary Trust Co. – 5.761 %
• JPMorgan Investment Management, Inc. – 5.035 % 
• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP – 4.951 %      
• DFA Australia Ltd. – 4.73 %    
• D.E. Shaw & Co., Inc. – 4.515 %         

While institutional investors own a majority of AMC Networks, the Dolan Family (the founders of the now-defunct Cablevision) owns a majority of Class B Common Stock.

As a result, the family has a majority voting control over AMC Network (over 65%) despite their limited stake in the company’s total equity. 

RLJ Companies shareholders

RLJ Companies is a privately held company owned by Robert L. Johnson, an American entrepreneur. He (Johnson) launched the company in 2001; before that, he owned BET (Black Entertainment Television), which he sold to Viacom.

As a privately held company, RLJ Companies’ shareholder information is not publicly available. However, it is most likely wholly owned by Robert L. Johnson, the company’s chairman.

How does Acorn TV operate?

Acorn TV is a streaming service that offers video-on-demand on a subscription-based model. The service has two subscription plans:

• Monthly subscription at $8.99
• Annual subscription at $69.99

Acorn TV’s subscribers can enjoy a large library of content, with the streaming service offering over 3,000 hours of entertainment content.

Acorn’s library includes many British TV series, offering content from major British content producers like Channel 4, BBC Studios, ITV, and All3Media.

However, the streaming service also offers a decent collection of international movies, TV shows, and several Acorn originals.

In which countries is Acorn TV available?

Acorn TV has a global reach, with the streaming service available in several countries, including: