Comments
Ariella
10/21/2016 2:12:47 PM
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AT&T
Yes, another indication of the telecom giant's move in the programming direction. But it's all very hush-hush according to the Bloomberg report: "The informal talks with Time Warner executives have been aimed at building relations between the companies rather than establishing the terms of a specific transaction, the people familiar with those discussions said, asking not to be identified as the deliberations are private." The article also mentions that it would likely to take a full 12 months to close the deal.
Re: AT&T
@Ariella: Well, it certainly seems that they had to do something. What else were they gonna do? Rely on Uverse? ;)
Ariella
10/22/2016 9:12:57 PM
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Re: AT&T
The WSJ reports here http://www.wsj.com/articles/at-t-reaches-deal-to-buy-time-warner-for-more-than-80-billion-1477157084 that they have agreed on $85.4 billion (I know people who cringe at that number and would say why coldn't they stick to an even 85?)
The article quotes Time Warner's Mr. Bewkes who explains, that the wireless carrier wold be "a great home for our content" now. "There's more video going on mobile."
mpouraryan
10/22/2016 10:10:30 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: AT&T
It is all about Synergy--but it is interesting how this was the rationale during the first mega merger. We have to wait until November 9 to see what happens. Look at the blockbuster merger in Cable in yesteryear and how the Obama Justice Department torpedoed it--
The more things change...
Lest we forget that Comcast (as we know it today) is the result of AT&T selling them AT&T Broadband which was itself created largely from TCI which they bought just a few years before from John Malone. They then started developing and depolying U-Verse as a broadband/"cable" TV replacement. And then of course Direct TV.
My calculator doesn't have a wide enough screen to determine how much $$ this all adds up to but competitively, my gut tells me AT&T has spent a few hundred billion the end up where they started 15 years ago.
Re: The more things change...
Ah, good points Jim. And I'll add MediaOne into that mix as well. Then there was SBC turning into AT&T.
Re: The more things change...
yep. And a few cellular companies. Has anyone ever done an analysis to see how much money traded hands over the past X number of years and which of these deals have resulted in greater revenue or stock price and how much simply evaporated?
I pretty much know the answer to "how many of these resulted in a better customer experience."
Synergy
Synergy is one of those terms that's impossible to argue against but in reality, rarely blossoms. Other than as a revenue stream, has there been any synergy between Comcast & NBC/Universal?
AT&T could've bought Ford which has better profitabliilty and probably as much if not better synergy for half that.
dcawrey
10/24/2016 2:14:43 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Synergy
This is similar to the Comcast/NBC Universal deal, except I think it's bigger.
These networks have to start protecting the content they stream to people. They have to start owning it. Will it be good for the consumer? That's hard to tell right now – hopefully consolidation doesn't cause prices to go up.
afwriter
10/21/2016 5:24:46 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: The more things change...
I know that the government would never allow for a total monopoly, but that is always where my mind jumps when I hear about company mergers. I'm sure it would be more economical for the two to merge, but I would much rather just see a partnership of some kind.
afwriter
10/21/2016 9:40:21 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: It's happening
That is insane! The first thing that popped into my mind when I read the article is that AT&T is going to leverage HBO in some way to steal subscribers from other service providers. No matter what, this is a huge merger in a short amount of time.
JohnBarnes
10/21/2016 11:05:16 PM
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Re: It's happening
afwriter, Mike,
Have to agree. That's insanely fast motion. Which makes me think that the real talks must have been going on in secret for a long, long time.
Formalized alliances/federations/fusions/whatever between service and content providers are changing so fast and so drastically that I really have to wonder if the problem isn't that we just don't have a good institutional model for them; licensing agreements, mergers, purchases, provider contracts, etc etc etc all have elements of what a service provider and a content distributor need to team up, but none of them have all of it, and all of them have some baggage in the form of hindrances and work-arounds. Ultimately we may need a new form of legal agreement, created and drafted by legislators, to be able to do what needs doing without having to do too much else.
elizabethv
10/25/2016 4:37:08 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: It's happening
@JohnBarnes - I've had the same thoughts, that more than likely talks have been going on for some time, it just wasn't anything that was ever made public. Sending a few emails back and forth and maybe having a teleconference or two likely wouldn't initially raise any eyebrows anyway, and if everyone involved was told to keep their mouth shut about discussions, this isn't something I could see anyone "whistle-blowing" early.
mpouraryan
10/22/2016 10:08:29 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: It's happening
By now, you all know it is "official". As we see this "wave" of conslidation, the question is again one of choice--the valuations are becoming just insane beyond belief. Just yesterday, Comcast sunik another 200 Mil into Buzzfeed giving it a valuation of over 1 Billion. I get synergy--but again the question is one of choice--it presents challenges for start ups and up and comers--does it not?
elizabethv
10/25/2016 4:41:48 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: It's happening
@mpouraryan - I think it definitely creates challenges for start-ups and up-and-comers. Similar to Walmart. These brands get so massive they make it impossible for the "little" guys to survive. And the same "store economics" doesn't apply for the larger brands like it does the smaller brands. You can have a location that makes next to nothing, when you're a corporation, because you're heavy hitting stores make up for the loss in profit from the smaller stores. In the end, for a corporation/mega-corporation somethings will just all come out in the wash. "Mom-and-Pop" stores don't have that kind of convenience. They can't have a store that just doesn't make money and still expect to be profitable at the end of the year. The same goes for telco, you can create an OTT that has hundreds of titles, and some may only be watched by a small section of your total audience, but having those titles makes you more appealing to a larger audience. So even if you technically lose money by offering some titles or channels, you can make up for it with your heavy hitters. Newer, smaller OTT services can't offer such things.
mpouraryan
10/26/2016 4:39:07 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: It's happening
What we all need to realize is that it is not a "done deal" by any means--and from all that I have seen over the last three days, everyone seems to be against it. Bigger does not necessarily mean better--and the challenges being faced will be profound. Today's NY Times underscored how AT&T plans to go after this--with a massive lobbying effort. But both @POTUS candidates have already come out against it--and Congress is up in arms. So, both have a fight on their hands.
elizabethv
10/26/2016 4:56:16 PM
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Re: It's happening
@mpouraryan - I agree it isn't over just yet. And I truly hope this gets nixed. Though I have little doubt in either potential POTUS candidates holding up their word after election. Right now they are both known to be less than honest, and both are worried about potentially losing. I could see them promising each of us a 10k check if they thought even a small fraction of voters would believe it. It's not a surprise that the plan is to lobby, and now we wait and see if their efforts are successful. Maybe the current POTUS will shut this whole thing down before one the other two even get in office.
mpouraryan
10/26/2016 5:06:27 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: It's happening
Without getting too political due to the nature of our discourse, what I was driving at is this: No matter who's elected, they (Time Warner/AT&T) will face an intense regulatory scrutiny and the current Admisntraiton has been adamant about not approving things either over the last few years. It will be fascinating to be witness to--no doubt.
batye
10/26/2016 9:31:27 PM
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Re: It's happening
@mpouraryan interesting point, but it life in IT field/technology... but it would be interesting to see how everything get played out...
mpouraryan
10/27/2016 12:06:55 AM
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Re: It's happening
Thanks as always @batye for your perspective--the roadmap is pretty challenging right now. What I found especially interesting is how AT&T is repositioning DirectTV with the 100-Channel Offering. It is going to get even more challenging.
batye
10/27/2016 12:14:28 AM
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Re: It's happening
@mpouraryan :) it not gonna be simple nor easy - but interesting :)
mpouraryan
10/27/2016 12:18:07 AM
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Re: It's happening
What you note as "Interesting" may in fact be detrimental to customer and customer choice--at the heart of the challenge that is before regulators. But even the major players have challenges--for instance Google Fiber (that I was looking forward to seeing here in Southern California) has scaled back--which means that being "big" is not necessarily being better....
mpouraryan
10/27/2016 12:18:08 AM
User Rank Platinum
Re: It's happening
What you note as "Interesting" may in fact be detrimental to customer and customer choice--at the heart of the challenge that is before regulators. But even the major players have challenges--for instance Google Fiber (that I was looking forward to seeing here in Southern California) has scaled back--which means that being "big" is not necessarily being better....
mpouraryan
10/27/2016 12:19:44 AM
User Rank Platinum
Re: It's happening
..and to add to that, I view what Farhad M. of the New York Times underscored a few days ago goes to the heart of the case against (and why markets seem to not like this merger)--but as you noted, it is going to be interesting:
https://technologyjobsnyc.wordpress.com/2016/10/25/att-time-warner-deal-is-a-strike-in-the-dark-by-farhad-manjoo/
elizabethv
10/29/2016 9:41:40 AM
User Rank Platinum
Re: It's happening
@mpouraryan - That's a really interesting article. And I think the idea might be exactly right - in the face of an uncertain future, they want to tie their rafts together and hope that together they can weather the storm better than they would apart. I still think it's a terrible idea for the rest of the country, but I suppose I can understand their perspective.
mpouraryan
10/29/2016 7:22:14 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: It's happening
It is certainly going to be interesting to see where it all goes. It will take at least a year before everything is sorted out--the key question is whether the customers will be "embraced" or not. In the meantime, things like the new DirecTV offering is fascinating to look at--and the cross-selling already happening (as epitomized by what AT&T has done in giving away an iPhone 7). How far we've come!!
elizabethv
10/30/2016 9:33:57 AM
User Rank Platinum
Re: It's happening
@mpouraryan - I saw the new offer to get a free iPhone7 if you were a DirecTv customer and switched to AT&T. I have to admit it's an attractive offer. Customers might start with "nice" offers like this - but I can't imagine the offers and the customer service will last long. Which is the biggest problem wtih mega-companies, so that they end up with fewer competitors and then don't need to worry about customer service.
mpouraryan
10/30/2016 10:23:36 AM
User Rank Platinum
Re: It's happening
I am sure you agree that they need to cross-sell heavily in order to be able to leverage their size and be creative in their offerings. They have no choice--especially after AT&T invested 50 Bil in DirectTV.
elizabethv
10/31/2016 6:32:46 AM
User Rank Platinum
Re: It's happening
@mpouraryan - Of course! Not only do they need to, realistically, it just makes sense to cross-sell when you have two large companies that offer different but similar products and services. Why not kill two birds with one stone, get a customers for one part of your business by selling to customers in the other part. Smart business move, if nothing else.
mpouraryan
10/31/2016 10:59:41 AM
User Rank Platinum
Re: It's happening
Many hailed the Comcast/Time Warner move as well at the time. As I have underscored, let's just hope consumers are not left holding the bag.
Happy Halloween to all!!
:)
freehe
10/29/2016 3:48:34 PM
User Rank Platinum
AT&T Time Warner Informal Merger
They say two heads are better than one. Time will time if this is true for these two companies. Interested to see the new products and services that will be offered to residential customers, pricing and the price structure (contract, no-contract, month-to-month). We will have to wait and see what happens. This merger will be interesting and is unpredented especially during an election year.
mpouraryan
10/29/2016 7:24:19 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: AT&T Time Warner Informal Merger
Bold Moves are the very nature of business itself. What will be fascinating it AT&T does, for instance, what Reliance in India has done with offering 4G service as part of its' cross-selling process. It will be indeed fascinating to be witness to it all:
http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/06/technology/india-reliance-jio-4g-internet/index.html
elizabethv
10/30/2016 9:38:21 AM
User Rank Platinum
Re: AT&T Time Warner Informal Merger
@freehe - I'm impressed with the more positive outlook to the merger. I can see the potential for the two coming together and creating new products, offering better services to customers. Hopefully that will happen, if the merger ends but being permitted.
clrmoney
10/22/2016 10:26:24 AM
User Rank Platinum
AT&T and Time Warner Merger
They should get time warner and they used to be popular now thier outcompeted by other companies so this would be a plus for them.
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