It was a plot hatched in the utmost secrecy. After striking up a rapport over their shared interest in golf, Discovery chief executive
Following a few whirlwind months of negotiations, which reportedly involved clandestine meetings and codenames, the pair this week unveiled a
The deal — one of the largest in the media sector in recent years — is tipped as the start of a second wave of consolidation and poses a clear challenge to the dominance of
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Telco troubles
For
At the time, AT&T’s ambition was to use Warner’s media offering to boost its telecoms customers under the principle that combining distribution with content was the key to cracking the modern media landscape.
But as
For a telecoms company with hefty infrastructure costs such as
“AT&T has been facing a dilemma familiar to many other large telecom operators: does it sharpen its focus on fixed-line and mobile networks to offer best-in-class connectivity amid questionable long-term return, or place bold risks on fuelling new revenue from adjacent areas such as content?”
Its decision to team up with Discovery suggests
Read more: Streaming giants:
Taking on
With competition heating up, the key to getting ahead in the streaming wars is securing the best content — an accolade that
The deal will combine one of Hollywood’s most powerful studios, home to the Harry Potter and Batman franchises, as well as
Discovery has roughly 15m subscribers to its streaming services, while Warner Media’s HBO Max now has almost 10m. This puts them well behind
“Combining Discovery and
She describes the merger as a “win-win” deal, though adds the tie-up would have made more sense before AT&T’s acquisition of
Moreover, the deal could fire the starting pistol on a tide of consolidation among streaming services as rivals battle for scale.
Yesterday it emerged
“The simple fact is that there are currently too many players trying to dive into the market,” says media analyst
“That is understandable but the streaming market is one where scale (particularly in content) is important — these players are now effectively global pay-TV providers — and weaker players risk throwing good money after bad. Therefore expect more consolidation amongst the streamers with other media companies now rethinking their strategies.”
The post Stream team: How Discovery and
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