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AT&T Possibly Combining Assets With Discovery

by Emily Nagle

AT&T is currently in talks with Discovery to merge their content into a portfolio worth more than $150 billion, as reported by Bloomberg this morning.

If finalized, the deal would combine two of the biggest content catalogues into a new media giant rivaling the most successful streaming platforms on the market, like Disney and Netflix. The conglomerate would include the most profitable media properties of all time, such as programming from Discovery (including their recently launched streaming service, Discovery+), as well as the multiple Warner Bros. studios and channels like HBO and CNN. AT&T will control the majority of the catalogue, as it has a greater market value than Discovery ($230 billion compared to $24 billion).

This deal has been in the cards since 2019, when AT&T chief executive John Stankey and Discovery chief executive David Zaslav considered consolidating the two companies’ programming – with the exception of HBO – into a single streaming service that would cost $8 per month. However, this plan fell through with the launch of Disney+, which went for $7/month. Consequently, in 2020 Stankey combined HBO’s properties with WarnerMedia to create HBO Max, which goes for $15/month for customers who don’t already have HBO on their cable plan.

As for Discovery, the company launched Discovery+ in January for $5/month. As of last month, the streaming platform already have 15 million subscribers. Like HBO Max, Discovery+ is expanding rapidly, and is rolling out to new countries and territories each month.

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