Does AT&T still own HBO?
One of the most well-known M&As of recent years occurred when AT&T paid $85.4 billion to buy Time Warner Inc. Most of Time Warner's media assets came under this transaction; HBO is the most well-known. As AT&T owns HBO after their purchase, the answer to "Does ATT still own HBO in 2022" is hence yes.
Operating as a pay-TV network since 1972, HBO is a brand mostly used for the transmission of films and original television programs such "The Sopranos" and "Game of Thrones." It has expanded and evolved to rank among the most respectable and reliable brands on television.
The ownership change of HBO by AT&T Internet has been a point of interest among analysts and regulators. AT&T is among the largest internet, television, and wireless service providers in America Today owning such a large content creator like HBO is seen as a threat and brake of competition. Nevertheless, when after a six-week trial of the proposed deal, a judge had to make a ruling on the proposed deal, he allowed it with no conditions and without requiring divestitures.
As for the creative control and decision-making, which fall under the purview of HBO’s leadership, AT&T has kept them mostly intact since acquiring the premium cable network. The key people who managed HBO when it was part of Time Warner are still in place today to plan its strategy. AT&T has backed HBO through sharper investments, for example, billions directed at acquiring new high-budget shows for the fight with streaming platforms.
Some of the new big-budget HBO shows greenlit under AT&T include
- House of the Dragon” – The spin-off of the “Game of Thrones”, the series is based on the Targaryen Kingdom
- The Last of Us” – Video game adaptation produced under Sony Pictures Television
- A period drama series, set in that time known as “The Gilded Age” ordered by Julian Fellowes
Also, AT&T has strategized HBO Max into an important role in its streaming internet service plans. HBO Max uses branding associated with HBO but deals with issues beyond the conventional linear premium channel.
Since HBO Max was launched in 2020, AT&T has been instrumental in increasing the number of resources allocated to the growth of content and the number of users worldwide. The latest developments include the approval of programming formats Max Originals, acquiring licenses for multiple movie studio transactions, as well as expanding more global releases. As of the close of year 2021, the streaming service had almost 74 million subscribers to its platform across the world.
Though, AT&T has the intellectual property right of the HBO brand they do not own HBO content in totality. For instance, Warner Bros Discovery has the license rights for Showtime series such as Sex and the City and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air through the merger of Discovery and former WarnerMedia. Thus, some of the older HBO shows that AT&T cannot offer in HBO Max include the following.
More specifically with regards to HBO, there have been subsequent discussions that AT&T may be looking to unload HBO or spin it out with the rest of WarnerMedia. The company has recently completed over $100bn of acquisitions and therefore it is now under pressure to reduce its debt levels. It may make AT&T free itself of distractions and hence better concentrate on its core business, the telecommunications businesses.
Although, AT&T’s CEO John Stankey has also mentioned that HBO and HBO Max are an important part of its future. But as HBO keeps on providing such significant hits as ‘Euphoria’ and ‘House of the Dragon,’ the premium brand is of paramount importance. It is expected that AT&T will retain HBO unless the market offers something that is simply too good to pass up.
Thus, four years after taking over HBO through the acquisition of Time Warner, the telecommunications company continues to own one of the most valuable TV assets. It has injected more money into the creation of HBO content and made the HBO brand the centerpiece of its streaming service in the form of HBO Max. And while some suggested AT&T may dispose of HBO, it appears that the company would retain the streaming service as part of its media strategy in the coming years.
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