Mere weeks after activist investor Elliott Management publicly pressed AT&T to slash costs and dial down its acquisitions strategy, it appears as if Chairman-CEO Randall Stephenson has knuckled under to those demands. Speaking today on AT&T’s third-quarter earnings call, Stephenson laid out a three-year plan that includes a pledge to conduct a comprehensive review of all non-essential businesses that may be be sold or spun off, while also making a commitment to retire all the debt related to its $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner. Stephenson also said that he plans to stay aboard through at least 2020. This is particularly important, as speculation that he was about to hand the reins to WarnerMedia boss John Stankey may have been one of the factors that precipitated Elliott’s decision to put the squeeze on the AT&T board. “I believe we’re on the threshold of something really remarkable, in terms of the next chapter of AT&T’s storied history,” Stephenson said. “I have every intention of being here, and I will be here through 2020.” Stephenson added that when the time comes for AT&T to choose his successor, the CEO and chairmanship positions will be made separate, a split for which Elliott advocated in its Sept. 9 letter to the board. Stankey, who recently was upped to chief operating officer at AT&T, remains the heir apparent. “Following five-plus years of heavy investment, it’s now time to reap the rewards of these investments and deliver... Continue reading at 'Advertising Age'
[ Advertising Age | 2019-10-28 20:32:03 UTC ]
Amazon is kicking off this year's holiday shopping season with its Prime Early Access Sale. This Prime Day "part two" of sorts is the second members-only sale event of the year that Amazon has had in 2022, and Prime subscribers will find thousands of items on sale at record-low prices. This is... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-10-11 20:30:23 UTC ]
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Music publishers, songwriters and musicians have struck a deal with streaming services for US mechanical streaming rates for 2023-2027, the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) has announced. The NMPA, Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) and Digital Media Association... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-09-01 12:34:02 UTC ]
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The union of HBO Max and Discovery+ is already causing pain through layoffs, and now the move is affecting some shows. Warner Bros. Discovery has confirmed to Variety that it's removing 36 titles from HBO Max as soon as this week while it prepares for the Discovery+ platform merger. Most of the... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2022-08-18 20:30:29 UTC ]
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It disrupted the market and has more than 200m subscribers. But with slower growth, some say Netflix must change its gameTwelve years ago Jeff Bewkes, then chief executive of Time Warner, compared Netflix to the Albanian army. “It’s a little bit like, is the Albanian army going to take over the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2022-04-17 07:00:23 UTC ]
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In this excerpt from his new book, Daniel Pink writes about choices that seem irresistible at first, but morph into powerful regrets later in life. For a guy whom antiquity scholars say might never have existed, Aesop has enjoyed a pretty good run as an author. The fables that bear his name (but... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2022-02-18 09:00:06 UTC ]
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After COVID-related delays, Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sweeping (and difficult to adapt) science fiction epic Dune is finally set to debut both on HBO Max and in theaters on October 1st. As the release date quickly approaches, Warner Bros has dropped a new trailer. (If you... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-07-22 16:21:07 UTC ]
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Over the weekend, a massive merger agreement was hammered out between telecom giant AT&T and entertainment company Discovery Inc. If it receives the blessing of federal regulators, AT&T will spin off its WarnerMedia unit—which includes CNN, HBO, and other assets—into a separate company... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review
[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2021-05-18 12:05:33 UTC ]
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Many of the biggest hits on such streaming services as Netflix and Disney+ have been adapted from comics and graphic novels. Publishers have learned to scramble to be sure the books these shows are based on are available when demand spikes. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-04-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The Hollywood Reporter announced this morning that a new Harry Potter series is in early development at HBO Max. Though HBO Max and Warner Bros. said in a statement that “there are no Harry Potter series in development at the studio or on the streaming platform,” multiple sources have confirmed... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-01-25 18:25:26 UTC ]
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AT&T’s WarnerMedia has brought on a startup to help it get HBO Max into more places. The entertainment arm of the Dallas company has acquired Canada-based You.i TV, a provider of cross-platform development tools for television and media companies, according to a statement. Terms were not... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal
[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2020-12-23 22:03:09 UTC ]
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The cuts are the biggest since the surge in employees at the time of the Time Warner acquisition in 2018. Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal
[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2020-10-26 17:04:42 UTC ]
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NBCUniversal's streaming service Peacock has an original science fiction series, Brave New World. Netflix is prepping Away, an upcoming sci-fi drama following a group of astronauts on a journey to Mars. Now, HBO Max has announced the premiere date of its own ambitious sci-fi show. Raised by... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2020-08-05 21:37:25 UTC ]
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Buzzy original series may drive attention to streaming services, but the bulk of most major streamers' programming catalogs are their libraries of licensed TV shows. And those licensed titles often account for the highest-quality content available on the service, according to data from streaming... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2020-07-02 10:30:51 UTC ]
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In addition to its originals and exclusives, HBO Max now has an original digital comic book series as well. Warner Media partnered with DC Comics to publish To The Max, which tells stories about “everyday people achieving their maximum potential,” ac... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2020-06-15 18:28:41 UTC ]
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Gannett, the owner of USA TODAY and more than 260 other daily publications, appointed a new chief financial officer as Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2020-04-08 17:34:12 UTC ]
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AT&T’s Brian Lesser, who heads up the company’s key advertising unit, Xandr, is leaving the company, according to a new report from Reuters. Lesser felt comfortable stepping down because Xandr is in a good position and its first quarter results are expected to show significant growth, the... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal
[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2020-03-11 18:26:08 UTC ]
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[caption id="attachment_177771" align="alignright" width="150"] Jason Frierott[/caption] Meredith Corp. announced Thursday that it has hired Jason Frierott as its new VP and CFO, succeeding Joe Ceryanec, who had previously announced plans to retire in early 2020 after 12 years in the... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2020-02-27 20:00:04 UTC ]
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AT&T Inc. managed something it hasn’t since 2014: An increase in spending on research and development. The Dallas telecommunications and now media company increased in investment in R&D last year by about $80 million to $1.28 billion, an increase of about 7 percent, it said in its... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal
[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2020-02-25 16:16:46 UTC ]
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AT&T Inc. managed something it hasn’t since 2014: An increase in spending on research and development. The Dallas telecommunications and now media company increased in investment in R&D last year by about $80 million to $1.28 billion, an increase of about 7 percent, it said in its... Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal
[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2020-02-24 22:58:29 UTC ]
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The news publisher expects to launch at least eight new podcasts this year and figure out ways to work closely with streaming services such as Spotify. The post CNN is kicking off a podcast push with a Jeffrey Epstein series appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2020-01-22 05:01:11 UTC ]
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