AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson: Netflix Is ‘Walmart’ of SVOD, HBO Is ‘Tiffany’
Chairman has no concerns over government’s merger appeal, thinks it will wrap up by January or February
Tony Maglio | September 12, 2018 @ 5:50 AM
Last Updated: September 12, 2018 @ 6:30 AM
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AT&T chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson brought out the big guns — or at least the big metaphors — Wednesday morning at Goldman Sachs’ Communacopia conference.
“I think of Netflix as kind of the Walmart of SVOD, HBO’s kind of the Tiffany,” Stephenson told those in attendance. Guess which one he owns?
In terms of that whole “bigger and broader” HBO that WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey has spoken about multiple times — Stephenson totally gets it, and he concurs with his lieutenant.
“You’d like to fill out the schedule…we’re not talking about Netflix-level of investments,” the head of the premium TV channel’s publicly traded parent company said.
Both men, Stephenson said, want content throughout the week and the year. They no longer want to see consumers cancel and renew their subscriptions around the “Game of Thrones” schedule.
Stephenson also has zero concern over the Department of Justice’s appeal against the AT&T-Time Warner merger that brought HBO under him in the first place. He said it’s basically just a bunch of lawyers billing hours at this point and expects that last-ditch effort to be all over in the “January-February timeframe.”
“We feel very good about where we stand on appeal,” Stephenson said, adding that he and his team is focused on integration and not further litigation.
Another thing Stephenson feels good about is WarnerMedia’s new direct-to-consumer service, which he says Stankey will announce in the fourth quarter.
10 Biggest Billion-Dollar Entertainment Deals in 2016 (Photos)
Media and entertainment dealmakers returned in full force this year after a quiet 2015, as there were nine mergers and acquisitions valued at more than $1 billion -- from Chinese buyers such as the Dalian Wanda Group to AT&T, which agreed to acquire Time Warner for $85 billion. Here's a rundown of the biggest.
Various
10. Disney buys a minority stake in BAMTech
Price tag: $1 billion
In August, the Mouse House announced that it paid $1 billion for a 33 percent stake in streaming video technology company BAMTech, which was spun off from Major League Baseball’s MLB Advanced Media. Disney plans to use BAMTech’s technology to launch a standalone ESPN streaming service – but without the same content as linear ESPN.
The real estate and entertainment conglomerate owned by China’s richest man continues to snap up showbiz companies by the billion, acquiring the Golden Globes and American Music Awards producer for a cool $1 billion earlier this month.
Dick Clark Productions
8. Rovi acquires TiVo
Price tag: $1.1 billion
Video technology firm Rovi Corp., bought the pioneering live-TV recording tech company for $1.1 billion in a deal that was finalized in September. After the deal was complete, Rovi adopted the better-known TiVo name.
Getty Images
7. AMC Theatres buys Carmike Cinemas
Price tag: $1.2 billion
Wanda-owned AMC Theatres acquired Carmike, the U.S.’ fourth-largest exhibitor, forming the biggest theater chain in the country with more than 600 theaters. That surpasses Regal Entertainment, which operates 565 locations.
AMC/Carmike
6. AMC Theatres buys Odeon & UCI Cinemas
Price tag: $1.2 billion
AMC also added Odeon & UCI Cinemas, Europe's biggest chain, to its ever-expanding suite of cinemas. AMC will rename the company to Odeon Cinemas Group and maintain its London headquarters.
AMC/Odeon & UCI
5. Dalian Wanda Group buys Legendary Entertainment
Price tag: $3.5 billion
Wanda was responsible for the first megadeal of 2016, when it acquired the “Jurassic World” production company for $3.5 billion. Legendary lost $500 million in 2015, but its action-packed fare such as “Warcraft” is popular in China’s fast-growing movie market.
Legendary/Wanda
4. Comcast's NBCUniversal buys DreamWorks
Price tag: $3.8 billion
The blowout success of animated films like “Zootopia” and “Finding Dory” was one of the stories of 2016, and NBCU doubled down on the genre by adding the “Kung Fu Panda” and “Shrek” studio to its fold.
DreamWorks
3. Lionsgate merges with Starz
Price tag: $4.4 billion
The “Hunger Games” studio and premium cable channel announced their merger plans in June, a year after telecom billionaire and major Starz shareholder John Malone bought a stake in Lionsgate. Starz will become an independently run subsidiary of Lionsgate once the deal is officially approved.
Lionsgate/Starz
2. Verizon buys Yahoo
Price tag: $4.8 billion – or maybe less
The embattled Internet 1.0 company finally found its lifeboat, selling its core business to Verizon for $4.8 billion in July, eight years after rejecting a $45 billion bid from Microsoft. But after the extent of Yahoo’s 2014 hack was revealed, Verizon was pushing for a $1 billion discount, and has been taking a second look at the deal.
Verizon/Yahoo
1. AT&T agrees to acquire Time Warner
Price tag: $85.4 billion
AT&T agreed to buy Time Warner, combining two century-old companies to create a content and distribution powerhouse in the biggest media deal since the ill-fated 2000 AOL-Time Warner merger. One caveat: Donald Trump, who has been an outspoken critic of Time Warner’s CNN, had threatened to block the deal. However, a Wall Street-friendly Republican Congress could provide a smoother path.
AT&T/Time Warner
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Rewind 2016: From China’s Dalian Wanda Group to AT&T, deep-pocketed buyers were chasing content all year
Media and entertainment dealmakers returned in full force this year after a quiet 2015, as there were nine mergers and acquisitions valued at more than $1 billion -- from Chinese buyers such as the Dalian Wanda Group to AT&T, which agreed to acquire Time Warner for $85 billion. Here's a rundown of the biggest.
Various
Disney
