Latest in AT&T

Influential proxy advisor Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) is recommending stockholders vote against AT&T's executive compensation plan at its April 20 annual meeting after the company granted WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar a stock award valued at $48 million. Kilar’s base salary, at $2.5 million, was above that…

WarnerMedia chief Jason Kilar offered some fresh thoughts and a sprinkling of numbers about HBO Max’s progress and outlook, emphasizing the lift it expects to get from adding a cheaper, ad-supported tier. “We have worked hard to earn more of consumers’ precious time, and it’s working,” Kilar said. The service, which…

HBO Max, the streaming service launched by WarnerMedia in May 2020, will reach 120 million to 150 million global subscribers by 2025, AT&T said this morning. The long-awaited, ad-supported tier of the service will launch in the U.S. in June, the company said. The new subscriber target is a significant bump from the…

WarnerMedia parent AT&T has been sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission for alleged violations of a regulation known as Reg FD that requires so-called fair disclosure of financial information. The SEC civil suit against the telecom giant and three of its investor relations executives claims they selectively…

WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar expects the upcoming launch of the cheaper, ad-supported version of streaming service HBO Max to unlock new value and boost subscriptions. “It turns out that most people on this planet are not wealthy,” Kilar said during a virtual appearance at Morgan Stanley’s Technology, Media & Telecom…

UPDATED with details from analysts’ call:  WarnerMedia parent AT&T has clinched hotly anticipated deal to sell a significant minority stake in satellite broadcaster DirecTV to private equity group TPG in a deal that will net the telecom giant $7.8 billion. The deal, expected to close in the second half of 2021, values…

WarnerMedia plans to light up streaming service HBO Max in 39 territories across Latin America and the Caribbean in late June, marking the first international presence for the streaming service. When European territories like Spain, Portugal, Central Europe and the Nordics join the footprint later this year…

John Stankey, chief executive of WarnerMedia parent AT&T, compared current production challenges to a "battle" as the studio struggles to wade through shutdowns. "We are still fighting through getting the pipeline, dropping the content at the right rate and pace that we want to," he said on a conference call to…

Despite the industry dust-up over WarnerMedia’s controversial 2021 theatrical-HBO Max release strategy, according to AT&T CEO John Stankey, the move was “the right call,” essentially “using the unfortunate set of circumstances around the pandemic for an opportunity to make lemonade out of lemons.” When asked this…

AT&T said the number of activated subscriptions to streaming service HBO Max doubled in the fourth quarter to 17.2 million compared with the third quarter, partly due to the release of Wonder Woman 1984. The number of overall domestic subscriptions to both regular HBO and HBO Max reached 41.5 million, which the…

UPDATED with ViacomCBS statement: Nearly two weeks after the Capitol siege prompted a host of companies to suspend political contributions to those opposing the certifying of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, ViacomCBS has joined the list. "ViacomCBS supports peaceful civic engagement and the orderly transition of…

AT&T as expected is phasing out its AT&T TV Now skinny bundle, announcing Tuesday that the service has merged with AT&T TV as it continues to streamline its video offerings. The company's site touted AT&T TV as "the best live and on demand experience" with no annual contract, simple pricing and no hidden fees…