• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Republica Press

Your Business & Political News

REPUBLICA PRESS
Your Business & Political News

  • Home
  • AI
  • BUSINESS
  • POLITICS
  • REAL ESTATE
  • About/Contact
    • Privacy Policy

AT&T-Discovery Deal Would Create a Media Juggernaut

by

Less than three years after AT&T spent over $85 billion and millions more fending off a government challenge to buy Time Warner, one the biggest prizes in media, the phone company has decided on a completely different strategy.

AT&T is in advanced talks to merge its media business, including CNN, with Discovery Inc., two people briefed on the deal said on Sunday. The plan would incorporate all of AT&T’s Warner Media assets, which include HBO and Warner Bros., one of the people said. The parties could announce a deal as soon as Monday, this person said, saying that the talks were not yet complete and final details had not been worked out.

Should AT&T and Discovery agree on a deal, it would combine two of the largest media businesses in the country. AT&T’s WarnerMedia group also includes the sports-heavy cable networks TNT and TBS. Discovery has a strong lineup of reality-based cable channels, including Oprah Winfrey’s OWN, HGTV, the Food Network and Animal Planet.

WarnerMedia is run by Jason Kilar, 50, one of the early pioneers of streaming and the first chief executive of Hulu. David Zaslav, 60, has been the head of Discovery for 14 years and helped it grow into a reality behemoth. It’s unclear who would lead the new business.

reported on the possible deal.

The transaction would create a new company bigger than Netflix or NBCUniversal. WarnerMedia and Discovery together generated more than $41 billion in sales last year, with an operating profit of over $10 billion. That would have vaulted it ahead of Netflix and NBCUniversal and behind the Walt Disney Company.

In other words, to compete for audiences increasingly glued to Facebook, YouTube or TikTok, media companies need to get even bigger. It could set off another round of media deals.

Both AT&T and Discovery have invested heavily in streaming in an effort to compete with Netflix and Disney. AT&T has plowed billions into creating HBO Max, a streaming platform that now has about 20 million customers. Discovery has 15 million streaming subscribers around the world, most of them for its Discovery+ app.

The merger would also be a significant about-face for AT&T, a telecommunications giant better known for servicing fiber lines and cell towers than producing entertainment and courting Hollywood talent. Industry observers questioned AT&T’s daring purchase of Time Warner at a time when cord-cutting was only accelerating. The spinoff indicates a failed acquisition strategy.

“AT&T didn’t know what they were buying,” said Brian Wieser, a longtime Wall Street analyst. “The strategy underpinning” the acquisition “was probably flawed.”

Brooks Barnes, Lauren Hirsch and Andrew Ross Sorkin contributed reporting.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

View

Filed Under: BUSINESS Tagged With: AT&T, AT&T Inc, Business, Cable Television, CNN, David Zaslav, Facebook, Food, Government, HBO Max, Industry, Kilar, Jason, Media, Media business, Mergers, Acquisitions and Divestitures, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Video Recordings, Downloads and Streaming, Walt Disney Company, Warner Brothers, Warner Media LLC, YouTube

Primary Sidebar

More to See

Profits at big US banks show few signs of industry distress

NEW YORK (AP) — The nation's largest banks appear to be weathering the current turmoil in their industry just fine.Despite a pair of historical … [Read More...] about Profits at big US banks show few signs of industry distress

Award-Winning Realtor Josh Meacham Announces New Office Location In Pinetop, Arizona

Josh Meacham, West USA Realty – Pinetop-Lakeside, AZ Pinetop-Lakeside, Arizona, March 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Josh Meacham is excited … [Read More...] about Award-Winning Realtor Josh Meacham Announces New Office Location In Pinetop, Arizona

SAE Taipei’s WCX 2023 Delegation Aims to Promote Biz Exchanges in the US

TAIPEI, April 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Taiwan’s SAE Taipei Section is sending a delegation led by Jerry Wang, 29th Chairman and Chairman of the … [Read More...] about SAE Taipei’s WCX 2023 Delegation Aims to Promote Biz Exchanges in the US

Copyright © 2023 · Republica Press · Log in · As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy