AT&T, Discovery want to create the world’s best media company. What does that mean for viewers? - The Dallas Morning News

komoros.blogspot.com

Dallas-based AT&T has struck a deal with Discovery Inc. that’s sure to catch HBO Max and Discovery+ subscribers’ attention.

Pending regulatory approval, Discovery will combine with AT&T’s WarnerMedia in a $43 billion deal that’ll create a media juggernaut to compete against the likes of Netflix and Disney. It will unite under one roof brands like HBO, HGTV, Warner Bros., Food Network, Cartoon Network, DC Comics and more, along with a portfolio of valuable sports broadcasting rights.

And Discovery Inc. CEO David Zaslav has high expectations for the new company he’ll run. Both Zaslav and AT&T CEO John Stankey said the combination will benefit shareholders.

But what does it mean for consumers?

The deal will likely mean a future product from the combined companies, which have each rolled out their own direct-to-consumer streaming platforms over the last year. It assures the new company’s “place as a fully scaled and differentiated global streaming platform,” Stankey told investors.

If regulators approve, the yet-to-be-named company would be publicly traded and include nearly 80 million subscribers off the bat and more than 200,000 hours of content. Together, the companies said they will reach one in every five American TV consumers each day.

“The very simple mission here is not just that we’re better together [on] the media side but that we’re probably the best media company in the world,” Zaslav told CNBC in a Monday interview.

Discovery already offers an ad-supported, low-cost version of its streaming service Discovery+, and AT&T expects to roll out a similar version of HBO Max later this year as it expands the service overseas.

AT&T and Discovery are positioning the deal as establishing a formidable competitor in the streaming space. The two companies spend a combined $20 billion a year on new content, compared with Netflix’s $17 billion and Disney’s more than $14 billion.

Stankey told CNBC that there’s little programming overlap between WarnerMedia and Discovery, and that’s “great for the customers.”

But unfortunately for customers, the biggest questions about how that content will be packaged, what it will cost and what happens to current subscribers don’t have immediate answers.

With the deal, AT&T is essentially offloading the WarnerMedia business to Discovery while maintaining a 71% ownership stake. It touts that owning WarnerMedia and its broad library of content for the past several years helped it grow the HBO Max subscriber base through bundling the nascent streaming service with the telecom giant’s other services like internet and wireless plans.

“Our focus is going to be to get to 200 million, 300 million subscribers,” Zaslav said.

Today, Netflix and Disney combined boast about 300 million subscribers.

Neither AT&T nor Discovery addressed whether current subscribers to their streaming services will have to sign up for a new platform and, if so, whether the cost will go up.

AT&T drew criticism from analysts when it announced HBO Max’s pricing last year. The $14.99 per month cost for a subscription was — and remains — higher than its competitors. Discovery+ subscriptions start at $6.99 per month without ads.

Stankey and Zaslav were in Dallas on Monday for a series of calls with analysts and media rather than in New York City, where Discovery is headquartered.

“We’ll work hard over the next few months to determine the final go-to-market approach,” Zaslav told investors. “But I feel very, very good about our hand.”

Adblock test (Why?)

"company" - Google News
May 18, 2021 at 06:44AM
https://ift.tt/2RqTR4z

AT&T, Discovery want to create the world’s best media company. What does that mean for viewers? - The Dallas Morning News
"company" - Google News
https://ift.tt/33ZInFA
https://ift.tt/3fk35XJ

Bagikan Berita Ini