AT&T Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorAT&T elected Luis Ubiñas, a former senior partner at international consulting firm McKinsey & Co., to its board of directors.With Ubiñas’s appointment, the number of directors on AT&T’s board increases to 13. He will serve on the board’s public policy and corporate reputation committee.Ubiñas, 58, most recently served as president of the Ford Foundation and as an appointee to both the U.S.

WarnerMedia parent AT&T has elected Luis Ubiñas to its board of directors, effective immediately.

AT&T and WarnerMedia are selling Playdemic, the mobile games studio behind Golf Clash, to Electronic Arts for $1.4 billion in cash.

One by one titans of media are delicately weighing on deals last month that will reshape the landscape with Comcast CEO Brian Roberts saying AT&T’s move to unload WarnerMedia “speaks for itself.”

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorAT&T CEO John Stankey positioned the proposed merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery as letting the companies — and their investors — better tap into the global direct-to-consumer opportunity, by separating the media assets from the telco.“I think, realistically, HBO Max would not be where it is today without the combined strength” of WarnerMedia and AT&T, said Stankey, speaking Monday at the J.P.

WarnerMedia streaming service HBO Max “would not be where it is today” without the company being part of AT&T, John Stankey asserted, even though that won’t be the case much longer.

AT&T will pay Discovery a $1.77 billion breakup fee if it backs out of its deal to sell off its WarnerMedia segment, according to a Plan of Merger filed on Thursday.If Discovery backs out of the deal, it will owe AT&T a breakup fee of $720 million. The terms were disclosed in a filing on Thursday.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorWarner Bros. once stood as the citadel of Hollywood, a mighty fortress of moviemaking.Today, the studio is bracing for its third massive executive shake-up in as many years.

AT&T CEO John Stankey and CFO Pascal Desroches held a 45-minute WebX town hall for WarnerMedia employees this morning, offering additional information about the entertainment unit’s upcoming merger with Discovery.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaAT&T chief John Stankey and Chief Financial Officer Pascal Desroches were asked tough questions about the implications of the pending merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery during an all-hands meeting of studio employees on Tuesday.Stankey tried to placate worried staffers by assuring them that he was going to advocate on their behalf and also urged them to “stay the course” during the months it will take for the deal to close.

Warner Bros. Games is reportedly being split up due to the recently announced merger between WarnerMedia and Discovery, Inc.AT&T, the parent company of WarnerMedia, announced on Monday (May 17) that it would spin off the multimedia company and merge it with Discovery, Inc.

As the news sank in about AT&T winding down its Hollywood foray via a $43 billion merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, one word summed up the film industry’s prevailing reaction.

NEW YORK -- AT&T said Monday it will combine its massive WarnerMedia media assets, which includes HBO and CNN, with Discovery Inc. to create a new media heavyweight in a $43 billion deal.The deal, which isn't slated to close until next year, will create new publicly traded company that will enter a streaming arena that has been flooded in the past two years with new players including those owned by AT&T and Discovery, which operate HBO Max and Discovery+, respectively.

Discovery chief David Zaslav, whose sizable corner of the media business is getting a lot bigger, said he had previously looked at the idea of creating a “global HBO,” but all the best series were taken.

Makan Delrahim, who as the Justice Department’s antitrust chief during Donald Trump’s administration challenged AT&T’s combination with Time Warner, has a different view of the planned spinoff of WarnerMedia.

Manori Ravindran International EditorIf AT&T and Discovery’s shock announcement underlines any learnings in recent years, it’s that legacy media is fighting back.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaIn the wake of a mega-deal with Discovery that seems primed to shake up the media landscape, AT&T chief John Stankey and WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar urged employees to stay focused on their jobs while they wait for the pact to close.“During this period, our direction and mission remain the same,” Stankey wrote in a staff-wide memo obtained by Variety.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorShares of Discovery and AT&T moved in different directions in the wake of the proposed merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery.Discovery shares opened up 10% Monday — before the stock tumbled into negative territory. The stock was down 0.3% as of 11:01 a.m.

Discovery combine into a single media juggernaut was hatched during a series of meetings and calls in the Greenwich Village townhouse of Discovery chief David Zaslav.But it might never have come about were it not for Zaslav and AT&T chief John Stankey’s shared passion for golf. The two men were commiserating via text message about how, due to COVID restrictions, they weren’t going to be able to see each other in person at last winter’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

NEW YORK -- AT&T will combine its massive media operations that include CNN HBO, TNT and TBS in a $43 billion deal with Discovery, the owner of lifestyle networks including the Food Network and HGTV.Faced with cord-cutting and incursions by streaming services, major broadcast media companies have retrenched and sought strength through mergers.The deal announced Monday would create a separate media company with households increasingly abandoning cable and satellite TV.

an operating profit above $10 billion.It is unknown what the fate of the two streaming services. This new company could bundle the two in the same way Disney offers a discount for those who buy all three of its streaming services: Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu.

an operating profit above $10 billion.It is unknown what the fate of the two streaming services. This new company could bundle the two in the same way Disney offers a discount for those who buy all three of its streaming services: Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu.

Bloomberg reported on Sunday.According to Bloomberg, the companies are in talks to bring their vast entertainment portfolios together. AT&T’s WarnerMedia includes networks like HBO, CNN, TNT, TBS and the HBO Max streaming service, while Discovery brings its own streaming service, Discovery+, along with networks like HGTV, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Food Network and TLC.

Discovery accelerated on Sunday as the shock of a possible transaction ricocheted around the halls of HBO, Warner Bros. and other legacy Time Warner companies that have been on a roller-coaster ride of disruption since 2016.Sources said AT&T leadership was meeting Sunday to discuss the transaction.

Bloomberg reports that the early talks could see the companies bring their vast entertainment portfolios together, with AT&T’s WarnerMedia owning networks like HBO, CNN, TNT, TBS and the HBO Max streaming service while Discovery brings its own streaming service, Discovery+, along with networks like HGTV, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Food Network and TLC. It is unclear how large the scope of the potential merger would be or if it would impact the two fledgling streamers.

AT&T and Discovery are pursuing a merger of their entertainment assets that would reshape the media business, particularly the fast-growing realm of streaming.

AT&T CEO John Stankeylauded WarnerMedia's CNN and streaming service HBO Max during the telecom giant’s annual shareholder meeting on Friday.

AT&T CEO John Stankey took a Godzilla vs. Kong victory lap Thursday as the film managed to storm the domestic box office and provide a solid boost for HBO Max.

2.7 million domestic HBO and HBO Max subscribers had been added in Q1. That brings the total combined sub tally for HBO and HBO Max to 44.2 million U.S.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorUPDATED: HBO Max continued on its growth curve in the first quarter of 2021, powered in part by big-budget films like “Godzilla vs.

On a combined basis, HBO and HBO Max added 2.7 subscribers in the first quarter, WarnerMedia parent AT&T reported.

AT&T posted its first-quarter 2021 earnings on Thursday, revealing WarnerMedia’s streaming subscription revenue had risen 35% year over year.Wall Street had forecast earnings per share (EPS) of 78 cents on $42.69 billion in revenue, according to a consensus estimate compiled by Yahoo Finance.

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.

A Casablanca quote crossed WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar’s lips during AT&T’s March 12 investor day when touting the benefits of vertical integration, or housing content and distribution businesses under the same corporate roof: “It reminds me of that classic Warner Bros. line,” he said.

Angelique Jackson AT&T and WarnerMedia have launched a multi-platform campaign to create awareness in support of #StopAsianHate, unveiling the campaign as part of “A Day of Action,” a national day of mourning and remembrance of communities affected by social injustice. Additionally, AT&T and WarnerMedia have announced a $7 million pledge to aid in the fight for social justice.“Hate and discrimination have no place in our society.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorAT&T will start counting streaming video used by HBO Max — and other telco-owned apps — toward wireless subscribers’ monthly data-usage caps. Previously, AT&T had provided unlimited usage of such services over its own networks for no extra change.