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Why telcos like BT and AT&T are retreating from media

A number of telecom giants have started to sell their media assets
May 18, 2021
  • AT&T will combine its media assets with Discovery, just three years after it forked out $85bn to acquire Time Warner
  • Verizon sold Yahoo and BT is in talks to sell sports broadcasting 

Just three years after the $85bn acquisition of Time Warner made AT&T (US:T) one of the most indebted businesses in the world, the telco giant has said that it will spin off and combine Warner Media with its rival Discovery (US:DISCA).  Under the terms of the all-stock merger,  AT&T should receive $43bn (£30bn) in a combination of cash, debt securities and Warner Media’s retention of some debt.  

The deal will combine AT&T’s HBO, Warner Bros studios, CNN and other cable networks with Discovery’s reality-TV channels, including The Food Network and Animal Planet. The new entity will be one of the biggest entertainment companies in the US: Discovery and WarnerMedia’s combined revenues were worth $41bn last year - second only to Walt Disney’s (US:DIS) $65bn. 

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