Latest in AT&T

UPDATE: At AT&T spokesman said a new retransmission consent agreement has been reached, and stations are returning to DirecTV and AT&T. The affected markets that will be able to see the NFL Playoffs and Golden Globes, among other programming, include Albuquerque-Santa Fe NM; Baltimore; Birmingham AL; Boston…

After more than a year of collaboration, AT&T sister companies WarnerMedia and Xandr — the year-old advertising company led by CEO Brian Lesser — announced officially today that they will team for their first joint upfront next year. The two will share a stage in mid-May in New York to “showcase the future of…

John Stankey, COO of AT&T, stumped for HBO Max during a keynote appearance Tuesday morning at the UBS Global TMT Conference, continuing to emphasize differences between it and Disney+. “Disney+ is a good product,” he said. “They’ve done a nice job. It has a particular appeal. The strongest appeal for Disney+ is to the…

AT&T, which is trying to chip away at its large debt load and manage through a period of secular decline in its traditional pay-TV businesses, has set a round of price hikes at DirecTV and U-verse. Beginning January 19, 2020, some customers of the satellite and cable outlets will see their monthly packages rise by $1…

UPDATED with closing stock price. AT&T’s stock ended its steady march higher Tuesday, dropping 4% after a respected Wall Street analyst downgraded the telecom and media giant’s shares and called its pay-TV unit a “cancer.” In one of their biggest single-day stumbles of 2019, shares fell $1.61 to $38.02, their lowest…

Three weeks after leading WarnerMedia’s HBO Max dog and pony show before investors, AT&T COO John Stankey was back on stage today in Hollywood talking streaming – past present and future. The first stop for the exec, who still also serves as WarnerMedia CEO, was the November 12 launch of Disney+. "They did a good job…

Sony has acquired AT&T’s 42% stake in Game Show Network in a transaction with a total value of $500 million. After the deal, Sony will own 100% of the multimedia entertainment company, whose offerings are anchored by its namesake cable network, which airs original and classic game programming. Game Show Network…

WarnerMedia has named Andrew Reinsdorf to lead government relations, where he’ll be responsible for the company’s federal and state lobbying. Reinsdorf served as senior vice president of video policy at AT&T. He dealt with video content issues, such as regulations for over-the-top services. He previously was senior…

Several Wall Street analysts offered upbeat reactions to WarnerMedia’s investor day and HBO Max reveal on the Warner Bros lot, helping push AT&T shares fractionally higher Wednesday. AT&T COO John Stankey, meanwhile, sat down with CNBC for a lengthy interview with CNBC that may raise an eyebrow or two in WarnerMedia’s…

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, who was the final executive to take the stage during WarnerMedia’s investor day on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, closed with an admission to the Wall Street analysts in attendance. “Some of you have told me this story is complicated,” he said of the company’s sprawling portfolio and…

UPDATED with pricing details: WarnerMedia confirmed a $14.99 retail price for HBO Max when it launches in the U.S. in May 2020, two of the most anticipated details revealed during its investor day Tuesday on the Warner Bros lot. Existing HBO subscribers and about 10 million AT&T customers will get the new service for…

Less than two weeks before its fourth season debuts on Adult Swim, Rick and Morty has set a library deal on HBO Max. The animated comedy has unusually strong appeal with younger viewers, on digital and ancillary platforms as well as traditional television. The show recently got a 70-episode order and its upcoming…