AT&T is set to buy Time Warner in an $85.4 billion agreement.
The deal will combine AT&T’s cable TV distribution platforms with Time Warner’s content brands including HBO, CNN and Turner Broadcasting.
“With great content, you can build truly differentiated video services, whether it’s traditional TV, OTT or mobile. Our TV, mobile and broadband distribution and direct customer relationships provide unique insights from which we can offer addressable advertising and better tailor content,” said AT&T chairman and CEO, Randall Stephenson.
“It’s an integrated approach and we believe it’s the model that wins over time. Stephenson described the combination as a create fit that created immediate and long-term value for shareholders.”
Warner Bros film franchises include Harry Potter and DC Comics, and its produced TV series include The Big Bang Theory and Gotham, while HBO own series such as Game of Thrones, Silicon Valley and The Wire.
Time Warner chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes said, “This is a great day for Time Warner and its shareholders. Combining with AT&T dramatically accelerates our ability to deliver our great brands and premium content to consumers on a multiplatform basis and to capitalise on the tremendous opportunities created by the growing demand for video content.”