AT&T Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

The problem with planning your superhero franchises so far into the future is that sometimes things leak a little early. And apparently, AT&T decided to go ahead and basically confirm some rumored DC superhero projects that are in the works at WarnerMedia during an Investors Day presentation, including “Batgirl,” “Zatanna,” and more.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorAT&T has refined its pitch to Wall Street on the rationale for owning WarnerMedia.As it approaches the third anniversary of completing its $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner, the telco giant held an Investor Day presentation Friday morning that was long on talk of “software-based entertainment” and global subscriber predictions for the next four years.

AT&T said Friday that it now expects to reach 120 million to 150 million HBO Max and HBO subscribers worldwide by the end of 2025, well above its October 2019 forecast of 75 million to 90 million. It expects to end 2021 with 67 million to 70 million subscribers worldwide, up from about 61 million at the end of 2020.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorThe cheaper, ad-supported version of HBO Max is set to debut in June, AT&T said, as the telco also raised subscriber targets for 2025.The company said it now expects 120 million-150 million HBO Max and HBO subscribers by the end of 2025, up from the 75 million-90 million it previously projected. With the upward revision, AT&T expects HBO revenue to more than double over the next five years.

HBO Max, the streaming service launched by WarnerMedia in May 2020, will reach 120 million to 150 million subscribers by 2025, AT&T said this morning.

WarnerMedia parent AT&T has been sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission for alleged violations of a regulation known as Reg FD that requires so-called fair disclosure of financial information.

The CFOs of AT&T and Discovery touted their companies' early streaming momentum during a virtual investor conference on Monday. WarnerMedia owner AT&T feels "good" about the early success of streaming service HBO Max, including subscriber and engagement trends, and its hybrid film release strategy for 2021, AT&T CFO John Stephens told theDeutsche Bank Media, Internet & Telecom Conference.

With the early-2021 film schedule in shambles after more studios delay their features into the second half of the year, the controversial deal by WarnerMedia to release its 2021 WB features in theaters and HBO Max simultaneously is starting to look less crazy than it once did. That said, it’s still a scary proposition and a sign that theatrical releases may not ever be the same.

In the summer of 2015, telecom giant AT&T closed its acquisition of satellite powerhouse DirecTV, touting its new role as "the largest pay TV provider" in the world. Price tag: $67 billion, including debt.

Telecom giant AT&T, led by CEO John Stankey, has struck a deal to sell a minority stake in its satellite TV unit DirecTV, AT&T TV and its U-Verse business to private equity firm TPG. The companies will form a new venture, to be called DirecTV, that will own and operate the pay video services.

WarnerMedia parent AT&T said Thursday it’s clinched a deal to sell a significant minority satellite in DirecTV, U-Verse and AT&T TV to private equity group TPG in a deal will net the telecom giant  $7.8 billion in cash.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorAT&T has set a deal with TPG Capital that calls for the struggling satellite TV provider DirecTV to become a standalone company in which TPG would own a 30% stake.The sides have been in talks for months as AT&T has sought to find a solution to the problem of DirecTV’s subscriber losses dragging down the company’s overall results.

More than 100 top executives from the world of entertainment, media, technology, finance, real estate and other industries signed a letter sent to Congressional leaders on Wednesday, urging them to pass a new stimulus plan based on President Biden's "American Rescue Plan." "Previous federal relief measures have been essential, but more must be done to put the country on a trajectory for a strong, durable recovery," the letter says.

Ending speculation about his future leading the news network, CNN president Jeff Zucker signed on to the daily editorial call Feb. 4 and made his intentions clear.

AT&T Inc. CEO John Stankey has defended moves by the telco and media giant to shift its legacy theatrical business towards the streaming space with HBO Max amid the pandemic.

In reporting its fourth-quarter and 2020 financials on Wednesday, telecom giant AT&Tdetailed some impairment charges for various businesses, including WarnerMedia and DirecTV, affected by the coronavirus pandemic and streaming video revolution.

John Stankey, chief executive of WarnerMedia parent AT&T, compared current production challenges to a “battle” as the studio struggles to wade through shutdowns.

Despite the industry dust-up over WarnerMedia’s controversial 2021 theatrical-HBO Max release strategy, according to AT&T CEO John Stankey, the move was “the right call,” essentially “using the unfortunate set of circumstances around the pandemic for an opportunity to make lemonade out of lemons.”

One of the biggest stories of last year, perhaps even the biggest story when it comes to the long-term effect on the film industry, is the move by WarnerMedia to shift its 2021 WB film slate to HBO Max. It’s a move that raised a lot of eyebrows and caused a lot of frustration with those in the industry.

accelerate sign-ups for the service. HBO Max and HBO topped 41 million combined U.S.

accelerate sign-ups. HBO Max and HBO topped 41 million U.S.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorAT&T said “Wonder Woman 1984” helped HBO Max double activations — to 17.2 million — in the fourth quarter of 2020. But a 21% decline in Warner Bros.

Variety Staff Follow Us on TwitterVariety returns to the Sundance Film Festival with a virtual interview studio in partnership with AT&T TV. Videos from the studio will appear on Variety’s and AT&T TV’s social media platforms as well as on Variety.com, beginning on Jan.

Randall Stephenson, AT&T's former chairman and CEO, has made good on his retirement from the telco giant, but with a one-year consultancy agreement in hand as he leaves the company's boardroom. On Monday, AT&T in an SEC filing said Stephenson on Jan.

AT&T as expected is phasing out its AT&T TV Now skinny bundle, announcing Tuesday that the service has merged with AT&T TV as it continues to streamline its video offerings.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorAT&T has thrown in the towel in trying to compete for cord-cutters looking for a cheap TV bundle — an unsurprising move as the telco tries to shore up its struggling pay-TV business.In an update on its website this week, the telco said it is no longer selling AT&T TV Now to new customers. “AT&T TV Now has merged with AT&T TV to bring you the best live and on-demand experience!” a message on the telco’s site says.

Comcast, AT&T, Hallmark and Facebook are joining the list of companies that are rearranging their political contributions and business relationships to distance themselves from President Trump and the G.O.P. the week after supporters of the president rioted at the U.S.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media WriterAT&T and Comcast — parent companies of Warner Bros. and NBCUniversal — have joined a growing list of companies that are refusing to donate to members of Congress who sought to overturn the election results last week.The move comes less than a week after rioters loyal to President Trump stormed the Capitol, leaving five people dead, including a Capitol Police officer.

AT&T, the parent company of WarnerMedia, and Comcast, parent company of NBCUniversal, are the latest corporations to halt political contributions to lawmakers who objected to the certification of the electoral vote last week in favor of Joe Biden, an event that was at the center of the siege of the Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump.

UPDATED with Sony CEO comments. John Stankey, CEO of AT&T and an industry figure who had a high-profile tangle with the administration of President Donald Trump, issued a statement decrying the “appalling insurrection” in Washington.

WarnerMedia owner AT&T continues to see benefits in vertical integration, meaning operating content and distribution assets, CFO John Stephens said on Tuesday. Speaking during Citi’s 2021 Global TMT (Technology, Media, Telecom) West Virtual Conference, he acknowledged "the challenge is to maximize" the value of combining these assets, but lauded how the approach"adds to the quality of our offerings." He emphasized: "We feel good about the strategy.

John Stephens, the outgoing CFO of WarnerMedia parent AT&T, defended the company’s move to release its 2021 film slate concurrently on HBO Max and in theaters and cited Warner Bros. century-long relationship with Hollywood talent — with some disgruntled at the move and the way it was communicated.

WarnerMedia has been getting an earful from creatives such as Christopher Nolan, Patty Jenkins, and Denis Villeneuve all voicing their concerns about the company releasing their entire 2021 slate of films on HBO Max with a new day-and-date model that certainly will place the streaming service in direct competition with traditional theaters and their ability to earn box office dollars.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorAT&T said Monday morning that nearly all of its telecommunications services in Nashville were back to normal operation, three days after the Dec.

Editors Note: As chairman/CEO of Fox Filmed Entertainment in the era of Titanic, X-Men, Independence Day and Braveheart, and producer of the Oscars and Oscar-nominated films like Hacksaw Ridge and Coraline, Bill Mechanic has been part of the fabric of the film industry his whole career. He thought he had seen every iteration and change in a business striving to stay relevant in the digital age.

AT&T is selling anime-focused streamer Crunchyroll to Sony for nearly $1.2 billion as part of its ongoing effort to streamline its assets. Crunchyroll, which was previously part of WarnerMedia's Otter Media segment, will now be part of Funimation, the joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music's Aniplex.