Acquisition of Time Warner by AT&T

  1. Home
  2. Wiki
Acquisition of Time Warner by AT&T
Logo before acquisition
Logo after acquisition
InitiatorAT&T Inc.
TargetTime Warner Inc.
TypeAcquisition
CostUS$85.4 billion
InitiatedOctober 22, 2016
CompletedJune 14, 2018
Resulting entityTime Warner would be renamed to WarnerMedia
StatusClosed

AT&T, then the largest telecom company,[1] announced its intent on October 22, 2016, to acquire Time Warner (parent company of Warner Bros, Turner Broadcasting and HBO) for $85.4 billion.[2] The landmark deal faced regulatory scrutiny and on November 20, 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against AT&T, citing concerns of unfair competition. [3] AT&T and the DOJ went through a six-week court battle in early 2018, [4] but the US District Courts ruled in AT&T's favor on June 12, 2018 [5] and allowed it to proceed with acquiring Time Warner. After the acquisition, Time Warner was renamed to WarnerMedia [6] and became a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T.

The DOJ sought to undo AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner and appealed to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.[7] In February 2019, the Circuit Courts upheld the 2018 ruling and the DOJ ceased further attempts at undoing the acquisition.[8] In May 2018, AT&T announced plans to create a streaming platform [9] using WarnerMedia's content library and presided over HBO Max's development. [10][11] After nearly three years of overseeing WarnerMedia, AT&T announced in May 2021 that it would spin-off WarnerMedia to merge with Discovery, Inc.[12] The merger of Discovery and WarnerMedia closed on April 8, 2022, and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) was established.[13]

Background history

[edit]
Main articles: History of AT&T, WarnerMedia, and Telecommunications Act of 1996

AT&T's corporate affairs

[edit]
AT&T's Whitacre Tower (located in Dallas, Texas)

The oldest company in AT&T's corporate lineage was the Bell Telephone Company, founded by Alexander Graham Bell in 1877. Bell Co. created the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (the original AT&T Corporation) in 1885 and merged with it in 1889. This transferred control of the Bell System to AT&T Corp and allowed it to oversee a vast network of regional telecom companies in a regulated monopoly. AT&T Corp's monopoly over America's telecom industry earned it the nickname of "Ma Bell". The Department of Justice sued AT&T in 1974 in the case of United States V. AT&T for antitrust violations, and by 1982, AT&T settled with the DOJ to breakup its Bell System monopoly. The Bell System ended in 1984 and became several regional "baby bell" companies.[14]

After the breakup, AT&T ventured into new industries in telecommunications. It formed AT&T Broadband to handle its cable and internet operations, AT&T Wireless to manage its wireless broadband, and AT&T Consumer and AT&T Business Services to offer long-distance and enterprise telecom services. Despite the diversification, AT&T Co. spun off its Broadband and Wireless divisions by 2002.[15][16] SBC Communications, the smallest of the "baby bells", went on to acquire several baby bell companies after the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 which deregulated the telecom sector. By 2005, SBC acquired its former parent, AT&T Co., and renamed itself to AT&T Inc. Despite its new name, AT&T Inc. retained its prior history as SBC Communications. [17][18]

Time Warner Center (Headquarters of Time Warner/WarnerMedia from 2004 to 2019)

Time Warner's corporate affairs

[edit]

Time Warner was the result of the merger between Time Inc. and Warner Communications from 1989 to 1990.[19] Warner Communications, founded by Steven Ross, started out as Kinney National in the service industry, before transitioning to entertainment and cable. Time Inc., founded by Henry Luce in 1922, controlled over a hundred magazines lines.[20] In 1991, Time Warner formed the Time Warner Entertainment limited partnership with companies like Toshiba and US West (a baby bell).[21][22] Time Warner acquired the Turner Broadcasting System in 1996 and gained cable networks like CNN and TBS.[23][24] In 1998, US West became MediaOne and was acquired by AT&T Broadband. This gave AT&T Co. a 25% stake in the Time Warner partnership and marked the first relations between it and Time Warner.[25]

In 2000, America Online agreed to acquire Time Warner in a deal valued at over $150 billion. The merger was the largest of its time and happened at the height of the Dot Com Bubble.[26] On January 11, 2001, the merger closed, and the combined entity, AOL Time Warner, was supposed to be a blend of traditional media and digital media, but it went on to become one of the most infamous mergers in history. The expected synergies between AOL and Time Warner were never formalized, and over $90 billion in losses occurred. Architects of the merger like Gerald Levin and Steve Case along with executives like Ted Turner resigned from the company and by 2003, Time Warner removed AOL from its name.[27] It also gained full ownership of Time Warner Entertainment.[28] Subsidiaries like Warner Music Group, AOL Time Warner Book Group, and Time Warner Cable were either sold or spun off to bring down Time Warner's debt. Under CEO Jeff Bewkes, Time Warner completed its formal separation from AOL in 2009.[29][30]

Merger developments

[edit]
Randall L. Stephenson, the CEO of AT&T from 2009 to 2020
Jeffrey Bewkes, the CEO of Time Warner from 2008 to 2018

Leadup to the acquisition

[edit]

After spinning off AOL and Time Warner Cable, Time Warner was no longer the world's largest entertainment company. In 2014, Time Warner spun off Time Inc. and this left it as a content creation company.[31] 21st Century Fox had also spun off its publishing divisions and attempted to acquire Time Warner but later dropped its bid.[32] In 2015, Apple executives proposed Time Warner being purchased by Apple, but both Jeff Bewkes and Tim Cook assert that such an acquisition was never considered.[33] Under CEO Randal L. Stephenson, AT&T formed the Otter Media joint venture with the Chernin Group in 2014 and acquired DirecTV for $49 billion in 2015.[34] AT&T grew interested in acquiring a legacy media company and held talks with Summer and Shari Redstone about acquiring CBS Corporation but later backtracked from it.[35]

Bob Iger spoke with Jeff Bewkes about the Walt Disney Company potentially acquiring Time Warner, but these conservations would lead nowhere as Bewkes soon entered talks with AT&T.[36] Following weeks of media speculation, it was announced on October 22, 2016, that AT&T would acquire Time Warner for $85.4 billion and assume debts of $21.3 billion.[37] The merger happened amidst the 2016 United States Presidential Election and Donald Trump, the Republican nominee expressed criticism over it while Hillary Clinton's campaign expressed skepticism.[38] Steve Case, the former CEO of AOL, reflected on the AOL-Time Warner merger and warned AT&T to not repeat the same mistakes that happened with AOL Time Warner.[39]

President Donald Trump during his first term (2017 to 2021)

Regulatory setbacks and DOJ lawsuit

[edit]

Republican and Democratic Senators, including Chuck Grassley and Bernie Sanders expressed similar concerns as Trump and Clinton did about the negative impact the merger could have on the entertainment industry.[40] After defeating Hillary Clinton in the Presidential Election on November 9, 2016, Trump, now the President-Elect, stated his administration would not approve the Time Warner deal. Jeff Bewkes and Randal Stephenson testified against Congress on December 7, 2016,[41] and several congressmen expressed concerns about the merger.[42][43] On January 12, 2017, several days before Trump's first inauguration, Randal L. Stephenson and several AT&T executives met with Trump, but the ongoing acquisition was not mentioned.[44] By mid-February, Time Warner's shareholders voted to approve AT&T's takeover, with the acquisition expected to close in late 2017.[45] Commenting on the decision, Jeff Bewkes told investors “We think this transaction makes sense strategically and financially.”

On February 28, 2017, Ajit Pai (FCC Chairman), passed the reviewing decision of the AT&T-Time Warner merger to the Department of Justice.[46] Randal Stephenson and Makan Delrahim (Assistant Attorney General) met on November 8, 2017, to discuss AT&T possibly selling DirecTV or Turner Broadcasting to clear regulations.[47] On November 20, 2017, the DOJ sued AT&T in an antitrust lawsuit to block the Time Warner deal. The case of United States V AT&T (2019) marked the third legal clash between AT&T and the DOJ after AT&T's unsuccessful bid for T-Mobile in 2011 and the 1974 antitrust lawsuit that dismantled the Bell System. It was also the most high-profile antitrust dispute since the DOJ's lawsuit against Microsoft. AT&T argued that the lawsuit was a “radical and inexplicable departure from decades of antitrust precedent” while the DOJ stated the merger would “greatly harm American consumers.”

Prior to the lawsuit, there was sentiment among Wall Street that the DOJ would approve the AT&T-Time Warner deal as it had previously approved Comcast's acquisition of NBCUniversal. As conspiracies arose over the lawsuit secretly being about AT&T's refusal to consider a divestment of CNN, Randal Stephenson commented by saying "Frankly, I don't know.", but he reiterated that AT&T would not sell.[48][49] Settlement talks between AT&T and the DOJ failed by December 19th,[50] and the court trial was scheduled to begin in March 2018. In response, Time Warner and AT&T extended the merger deadline to June 21, 2018.[51] The court trial began on March 19, 2018 and would last for six weeks.[52] US District Judge, Richard J. Leon, presided over the trial. Jeff Bewkes testified on April 18th [53] and assured that AT&T would not withhold Time Warner's content from competitors. Stephenson testified on April 19th [54] and argued that the acquisition presented AT&T with a rare opportunity. On June 12, 2018, Judge Leon ruled that AT&T could proceed with acquiring Time Warner and that it posed no harm to consumers. The acquisition closed on June 14, 2018, and Time Warner was renamed to WarnerMedia.[55][56][57]

Overseeing WarnerMedia

[edit]
John Stankey, CEO of AT&T and Former CEO of WarnerMedia

Reorganizing WarnerMedia

[edit]

WarnerMedia (formerly Time Warner) was turned into a limited liability company and fully integrated into AT&T as a wholly owned subsidiary. WarnerMedia's financial reports were reported under AT&T's SEC filings and its ticker symbol of (TWX) ceased trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The AT&T-Time Warner merger led to other ongoing media deals like Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox and the Viacom and CBS Corporation media deals being approved. Jeff Bewkes retired from WarnerMedia as its CEO on June 15, 2018, and John Stankey, an AT&T executive, became its new CEO.[58] On July 11, 2018, the Department of Justice sought to appeal Judge Leon's decision on the AT&T-Time Warner deal and appealed to the US Circuit Court of Appeals. AT&T agreed to delay restructuring its WarnerMedia division until February 2019, while the DOJ pledged to cease efforts to overturn the merger if the Circuit Courts upheld Judge Leon's decision.[59][60]

AT&T spent the rest of 2018 acquiring full ownership of its other media properties like Otter Media and creating the advertising company known as Xandr and integrated them into WarnerMedia.[61] It also announced plans to use the content library of WarnerMedia to create a streaming service. On February 20, 2019, the Circuit Courts upheld Judge Leon's 2018 ruling and the DOJ agreed to let AT&T keep WarnerMedia.[62][63] With the DOJ no longer attempting to undo the merger, AT&T began its restructuring efforts on WarnerMedia. Turner Broadcasting System was dissolved in March 2019 and several subdivisions of WarnerMedia were established. This meant Warner Bros., HBO, and the Turner Networks would no longer operate as separate businesses, but under a unified structure. On March 20, 2019, AT&T integrated AT&T SportsNet into WarnerMedia. Longtime executives like Josh Martin, Kevin Tsujihara, and others left WarnerMedia and AT&T appointed new executives to WarnerMedia.

HBO Max's development

[edit]

Spinoff of WarnerMedia and merger with Discovery

[edit]
Main article: Merger of Discovery, Inc. and WarnerMedia

Creation and establishment of WBD

[edit]
Logo of Warner Bros. Discovery

On May 16, 2021, Bloomberg News reported that AT&T was considering an offer to divest equity interest in their media subsidiary WarnerMedia (the former Time Warner, which AT&T acquired in 2018 for just over $85 billion in an attempt to become a vertically integrated media conglomerate), and have it merge with Discovery, Inc. to form a new publicly traded company.[64][65] AT&T and Discovery officially confirmed the agreement the next day; the merger would be structured as a Reverse Morris Trust, with AT&T shareholders holding a 71% interest in the new company's stock and appointing seven board members, and Discovery shareholders holding a 29% interest and appointing six board members. AT&T would receive US$43 billion in cash and debt from the divestment. The merger was expected to be completed in mid-2022.[66][67][68]

The new company would be led by Discovery's current CEO, David Zaslav; WarnerMedia's CEO Jason Kilar's position in the new company was uncertain.[66] Zaslav stated that the two companies would spend a combined US$20 billion annually on content (outpacing even Netflix). The company will aim to expand their streaming services, which includes WarnerMedia's HBO Max, to reach 400 million global subscribers.[67] It was stated that the company would aim to achieve $3 billion in cost savings via synergies within two years.[69]

On June 1, 2021, it was announced that the merged company would be known as Warner Bros. Discovery, and an interim wordmark was unveiled with the tagline "The stuff that dreams are made of"—a quote from the 1941 Warner Bros. film The Maltese Falcon, itself paraphrasing Shakespeare's The Tempest. Zaslav explained that the company aimed to be the "most innovative, exciting and fun place to tell stories in the world", and would combine Warner Bros.' "fabled hundred-year legacy of creative, authentic storytelling and taking bold risks to bring the most amazing stories to life" with Discovery's "integrity, innovation and inspiration."[70][71]

In an SEC Filing on November 18, 2021, Discovery revealed that talks with AT&T had fallen through, in April 2021, due to disagreements over the ownership of the new company between AT&T and Discovery shareholders, and the amount of debt transferred to Discovery when they merged with WarnerMedia, before talks resumed on May 17, 2021.[72]

In November 2021, during an earnings call, Discovery Streaming CEO JB Perrette discussed possible options for its Discovery+ streaming service post-merger, including bundling the service with HBO Max and eventually merging them under a single platform with a mixture of both companies' technologies. He also noted that WBD may prioritize launching Discovery+ and HBO Max as a unified platform in markets where Discovery+ has yet to launch, such as another parts of the Asia-Pacific.[73] On March 14, 2022, Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels—who would assume the same position post-merger—confirmed that such a transition was a long-term goal.[74]

On December 22, 2021, the transaction was approved by the European Commission.[75][76] On January 5, 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported that WarnerMedia and Paramount Global (at the time named ViacomCBS) were exploring a possible sale of either a majority stake or all of The CW, and that Nexstar Media Group was considered a leading bidder.[77] The reports also indicated that WarnerMedia and ViacomCBS could include a contractual commitment that would require any new owner to buy new programming from those companies, allowing them to reap some continual revenue through the network.[78] The CW's then-president-and-CEO Mark Pedowitz confirmed talks of a potential sale in a memo to CW staffers, but added that "It's too early to speculate what might happen."[79][80]

On January 26, 2022, AT&T CEO John Stankey stated that the merger was expected to close sometime during the second quarter of 2022.[81][82] On February 1, 2022, it was reported that AT&T had finalized the structure of the merger: WarnerMedia would be spun off pro rata to AT&T's shareholders, and then merge into Discovery Inc. to form the new company.[83][84] The transaction was approved by the Brazilian antitrust regulator Cade on February 7,[85] followed by the United States Department of Justice on February 9.[86] On March 11, 2022, the merger was approved by Discovery's shareholders. Due to the structure of the merger, it did not require separate approval from AT&T shareholders.[87][88]

In an SEC filing on March 25, 2022, AT&T stated that two-way trading of WBD stock with that of AT&T would begin on April 4, 2022, and that a special dividend would be issued the next day to give AT&T shareholders a 0.24 share in WBD for each share of AT&T common stock they hold.[89][90] The merger was officially completed on April 8, 2022, with trading beginning on the Nasdaq on April 11.[91]

Post merger (2022 - Present)

[edit]

AT&T fully left the media industry in 2025 after selling its majority stake in DirecTV.[92][93]

Works cited

[edit]

Coll, Steve (January 1, 1988). The Deal of the Century: The Breakup of AT&T. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9780671645922.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Gara, Antoine (May 24, 2017). "The World's Largest Telecom Companies: AT&T And Verizon Top China Mobile". Forbes. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  2. ^ Gryta, Thomas; Hagey, Keach; Cimilluca, Dana; Sharma, Amol (October 22, 2016). "AT&T Reaches Deal to Buy Time Warner for $85.4 Billion". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  3. ^ "Office of Public Affairs | Justice Department Challenges AT&T/DirecTV's Acquisition of Time Warner | United States Department of Justice". www.justice.gov. November 20, 2017. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  4. ^ LegalClarityTeam (July 21, 2025). "United States v. AT&T: The Time Warner Merger Case". LegalClarity. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  5. ^ Ivanova, Irina (June 12, 2018). "AT&T - Time Warner merger approved without conditions - judge rules today; Time Warner stock price rises in after-hours trading - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  6. ^ Morgan, Richard (June 16, 2018). "Time Warner will be renamed Warner Media, Turner CEO exits". New York Post. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  7. ^ Gasparino, Charlie (July 11, 2018). "Justice Department to appeal AT&T-Time Warner case". FOXBusiness. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  8. ^ Bartz, Diane; Shepardson, David (February 26, 2019). "U.S. Justice Dept will not appeal AT&T, Time Warner merger after court loss". Reuters. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  9. ^ Clark, Travis (October 10, 2018). "AT&T will jump into the streaming bloodbath by launching a Netflix competitor next year". Business Insider. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  10. ^ Steigrad, Alexandria (October 29, 2019). "AT&T to launch HBO Max streaming service in May 2020 to compete with Netflix". Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  11. ^ "TRT Global - AT&T launches HBO Max, vying with Netflix, others for quarantine viewing". trt.global. May 27, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  12. ^ James, Meg; Battaglio, Stephen (May 17, 2021). "AT&T to spin off HBO, other WarnerMedia assets in a huge deal with Discovery. What went wrong?". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 17, 2021. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  13. ^ "Combination of Discovery and WarnerMedia Creates Warner Bros. Discovery, Global Leader in Entertainment and Streaming". April 8, 2022. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  14. ^ Gianforti, Adrian (January 24, 2022). "This Month in Business History: AT&T Monopoly & Breakup of the Bell System". History Factory. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  15. ^ Borland, John (October 25, 2000). "Despite breakup, AT&T continues to reshape telecom landscape". CNET. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  16. ^ Flint, Joe (November 15, 2002). "AT&T Sets Broadband Spinoff Date". Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  17. ^ "SBC completes purchase of AT&T". NBC News. November 18, 2005. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  18. ^ Rojas, Peter (February 2, 2005). "The Engadget Guide to AT&T Wireless/Cingular/SBC/AT&T merger mania". Engadget. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  19. ^ Greenwald, John (August 7, 1989). "All Hitched Up and Ready to Go: Time Warner". TIME Magazine. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  20. ^ McClintick, David (April 10, 1994). "The Man Who Swallowed Time Inc. (Published 1994)". Archived from the original on July 12, 2023. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  21. ^ Greenwald, John (November 11, 1991). "Media a $1 Billion Pacific Alliance". TIME Magazine. Retrieved September 20, 2025.
  22. ^ Fabrikant, Geraldine (May 17, 1993). "THE MEDIA BUSINESS; US WEST TO WORK WITH TIME WARNER". The New York Times. Retrieved September 20, 2025.
  23. ^ Jesus Gonzalez Castillo (May 5, 2025). Turner And Time Warner Merger On CBS Evening News (09-22-1995). Retrieved September 19, 2025 – via YouTube.
  24. ^ UPI Archives (October 10, 1996). "TBS holders approve Time Warner deal - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  25. ^ Shapiro, Eben (April 26, 1999). "Time Warner Could Reap Advantages If AT&T Bid for MediaOne Is Successful - WSJ". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on August 20, 2023. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  26. ^ "AOL-Time Warner merger announced | January 10, 2000". November 13, 2009. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  27. ^ Roberts, Joel (October 22, 2003). "Time Warner Drops AOL Name - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
  28. ^ Comcast Corporation (March 31, 2003). "AOL Time Warner and Comcast Report Successful Completion of Time Warner Entertainment Restructuring". corporate.comcast.com. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  29. ^ Dealbook (December 9, 2009). "AOL Quietly Returns to Life on Its Own". Dealbook. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  30. ^ The Associated Press (May 28, 2009). "Time Warner walking out on AOL marriage". NBC News. Retrieved September 20, 2025.
  31. ^ Kelly, Keith J. (May 8, 2014). "Time Inc. sets date for split, more layoffs to come". The New York Post. Retrieved September 20, 2025.
  32. ^ Frean, Alexandra; Spence, Alex (August 6, 2014). "21st Century Fox drops $80bn Time Warner bid". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  33. ^ Sherman, Alex (May 25, 2021). "How Apple's 2015 negotiations for Time Warner bundling deal briefly led to acquisition talks". CNBC. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
  34. ^ Gryta, Thomas (July 24, 2015). "AT&T Closes $49 Billion DirecTV Buy". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on October 16, 2015. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  35. ^ Flint, Joe; FitzGerald, Drew (June 24, 2018). "AT&T Expressed Interest in CBS to Shari Redstone Before Time Warner Deal". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on June 24, 2018. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  36. ^ Atkinson, Claire (May 25, 2021). "WarnerMedia executives are heartbroken as they imagine the Disney deal that could have been". Business Insider. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  37. ^ The Wall Street Journal (October 22, 2016). "Major media shakeup: AT&T inks deal to buy Time Warner for more than $85 billion". Fox News. Retrieved September 20, 2025.
  38. ^ Edwards, Haley Sweetland (October 23, 2016). "Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton Skeptical Of AT&T, Time Warner Merger". TIME Magazine. Archived from the original on May 14, 2025. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
  39. ^ Case, Steve (October 24, 2016). "What the AT&T Merger Can Learn From AOL-Time Warner". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on June 28, 2025. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
  40. ^ Rosenfeld, Everett (October 26, 2016). "Bernie Sanders is trying to single handedly kill AT&T's $85 billion purchase of Time Warner". CNBC. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
  41. ^ C-Span Network (December 7, 2016). "AT&T-Time Warner Proposed Merger". C-Span. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  42. ^ Dow Jones Newswire (December 7, 2016). "Lawmakers Voice Concerns Over AT&T Deal for Time Warner". Fox Business. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
  43. ^ Reardon, Marguerite (December 7, 2016). "Lawmakers grill AT&T over $85 billion Time Warner merger". CNET. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
  44. ^ Gryta, Thomas (January 12, 2017). "AT&T Chief and Donald Trump Meet, But Merger Doesn't Come Up". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on July 22, 2024. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
  45. ^ Vlessing, Etan (February 15, 2017). "Time Warner Shareholders Approve AT&T Deal". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  46. ^ Barraclough, Leo (February 28, 2017). "FCC Chairman Reaffirms Hands-Off Approach to AT&T-Time Warner Merger". Variety. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  47. ^ Merced, Michael J. de la; Steel, Emily; Sorkin, Andrew Ross (November 8, 2017). "Justice Department Says Not So Fast to AT&T's Time Warner Bid (Published 2017)". Archived from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  48. ^ Arbel, Tali (November 21, 2017). "Justice Dept. sues to stop AT&T's $85B Time Warner deal". The Associated Press. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
  49. ^ Johnson, Ted (November 29, 2017). "AT&T's Randall Stephenson: We'll Offer Concessions, Not Asset Sales, to DOJ Over Time Warner Merger". Variety. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  50. ^ Zacks Equity Research (December 19, 2017). "AT&T, Time Warner Fail to Settle Acquisition Talks with DOJ". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
  51. ^ "AT&T, Time Warner extend merger deadline until June 2018". mint. December 22, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  52. ^ Reardon, Marguerite (March 20, 2018). "AT&T, Time Warner battle DOJ for the future of streaming video". CNET. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
  53. ^ Gardner, Eriq (April 18, 2018). "Time Warner CEO Jeffrey Bewkes Defends AT&T Merger at Antitrust Trial". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  54. ^ Johnson, Ted (April 19, 2018). "AT&T-Time Warner Trial: Randall Stephenson Takes Stand and Defends Merger". Variety. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  55. ^ Ivanova, Irina (June 12, 2018). "AT&T - Time Warner merger approved without conditions - judge rules today; Time Warner stock price rises in after-hours trading - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved September 20, 2025.
  56. ^ Steinberg, Brian (June 15, 2018). "AT&T to Rename Time Warner WarnerMedia; Turner Chief John Martin to Depart". Yahoo Entertainment. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  57. ^ Kendall, Brent; FitzGerald, Drew (June 12, 2018). "Judge Rules AT&T Can Acquire Time Warner". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  58. ^ Hipes, Patrick (June 15, 2018). "Watch Time Warner Chief Jeff Bewkes Bid Farewell To Staff". Deadline. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
  59. ^ Gasparino, Charlie (2018-07-11). "Justice Department to appeal AT&T-Time Warner case". FOXBusiness. Retrieved 2025-09-22.
  60. ^ Atkinson, Claire (December 6, 2018). "AT&T and Justice Department continue battle over $85.4 billion Time Warner acquisition". NBC News. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
  61. ^ Hipes, Patrick (August 7, 2018). "AT&T Acquires Rest Of Otter Media To Fold Into New WarnerMedia". Deadline. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
  62. ^ Bloomberg (February 20, 2019). "US court backs AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner". Retrieved September 22, 2025.
  63. ^ Forensis Group (May 1, 2025). "Federal Court Clears Way for AT&T's Landmark Acquisition of Time Warner". www.forensisgroup.com. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
  64. ^ Hammond, Ed (May 16, 2021). "AT&T Is Preparing to Merge Media Assets With Discovery". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on May 16, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  65. ^ Sherman, Alex (May 16, 2021). "AT&T in advanced talks to merge WarnerMedia with Discovery, deal expected as soon as Monday". CNBC. Archived from the original on May 31, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  66. ^ a b Hammond, Ed; Turner, Nick (May 17, 2021). "AT&T's WarnerMedia, Discovery to Merge in Blockbuster Deal". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on March 24, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  67. ^ a b Kovach, Steve; Meredith, Sam (May 17, 2021). "AT&T announces $43 billion deal to merge WarnerMedia with Discovery". CNBC. Archived from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  68. ^ Hayes, Dade (May 17, 2021). "David Zaslav And John Stankey Outline Plans For Merging Discovery And WarnerMedia, Addressing Future Of Jason Kilar, CNN, Streaming". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 4, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  69. ^ Weprin, Alex (May 26, 2021). "Discovery-WarnerMedia's $3B in Cost-Savings: Where Will That Come From?". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  70. ^ Palmeri, Christopher (June 1, 2021). "Warner Bros. Discovery Will Be Name of Company Shorn From AT&T". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on March 24, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  71. ^ Goldsmith, Jill (June 1, 2021). "Warner Bros. Discovery Set As Name Of Merged Company". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 3, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  72. ^ "Form S-4 Registration Statement" (PDF). U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. November 18, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 20, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  73. ^ Bunson, Ben (November 3, 2021). "Discovery+, HBO Max may bundle before combining after merger". FierceVideo. Archived from the original on November 11, 2021. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  74. ^ Maas, Jennifer (March 14, 2022). "HBO Max and Discovery Plus Will Be Combined Into One Platform". Variety. Archived from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  75. ^ Vlessing, Etan (December 22, 2021). "Discovery-WarnerMedia Merger Gets European Union Approval". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 26, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  76. ^ "European Commission grants approval for Discovery acquisition of WarnerMedia". Reuters. December 22, 2021. Archived from the original on May 26, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
  77. ^ Flint, Joe (January 5, 2022). "WarnerMedia and ViacomCBS Are Exploring Possible Sale of CW Network". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on January 6, 2022. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  78. ^ Farley, Ashley (January 13, 2022). "REPORT: The CW's Potential Sale May Kill Its Original Programming". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  79. ^ Goldberg, Lesley; Weprin, Alex (January 6, 2022). "ViacomCBS and WarnerMedia Exploring Sale of The CW". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on January 6, 2022. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  80. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (January 6, 2022). "The CW CEO Mark Pedowitz Confirms WarnerMedia & ViacomCBS Exploring "Strategic Opportunities" As Majority Stake In Network Is Shopped With Nexstar Among Suitors – Update". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 6, 2022. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  81. ^ Hepburn, Tmera (January 26, 2022). "WarnerMedia and Discovery Merger Now Expected to Close This Spring". Cord Cutters News. Archived from the original on January 26, 2022. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  82. ^ Pinto, Jordan (January 27, 2022). "WarnerMedia-Discovery merger expected to close in Q2, says AT&T's Stankey". C21 Media. Archived from the original on January 27, 2022. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  83. ^ Spangler, Todd (February 1, 2022). "AT&T Sets Plan to Spin Off WarnerMedia in $43 Billion Deal". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on February 1, 2022. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  84. ^ Szalai, George (February 1, 2022). "AT&T Picks WarnerMedia Spin-Off as Structure for Key Step in Discovery Merger". The Hollywood Reporter. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on February 1, 2022. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  85. ^ "Cade surpreende e aprova fusão Discovery/WarnerMedia sem restrições". Notícias da TV (in Portuguese). February 7, 2022. Archived from the original on February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  86. ^ "Form 8-K". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission & Discovery Inc. February 9, 2021. Archived from the original on May 3, 2022. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  87. ^ Goldsmith, Jill (February 10, 2022). "Discovery Sets March 11 For Shareholder Vote On WarnerMedia Merger". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on May 26, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  88. ^ "Discovery Shareholders Approve $43 Billion WarnerMedia Merger". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. March 11, 2022. Archived from the original on May 26, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  89. ^ "Form 8-K". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission & AT&T. March 25, 2022. Archived from the original on April 24, 2022. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  90. ^ "AT&T Announces Details for Completion of Spin-Off Ahead of Close of WarnerMedia Transaction". AT&T. March 25, 2022. Archived from the original on March 25, 2022. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  91. ^ Maas, Jennifer (April 8, 2022). "Discovery Closes Acquisition of AT&T's WarnerMedia". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on April 8, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  92. ^ Picher, Aimee; Sherter, Alain (September 30, 2024). "AT&T sells stake in DirecTV for $7.6 billion as it exits entertainment biz, as DirecTV buys Dish - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  93. ^ Green, Timothy (October 2, 2024). "AT&T Finally Gets Out of the Media Business With DIRECTV Sale". The Montley Fool. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
[edit]