American telecommunications giant AT&T has officially announced that they have completed the acquisition of media company Time Warner for US$85 billion.
The acquisition comes two days after the U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon ruled that the telecom giant does not violate antitrust laws in acquiring assets like Cartoon Network, CNN and HBO.
“The content and creative talent at Warner Bros., HBO and Turner are first-rate. Combine all that with AT&T’s strengths in direct-to-consumer distribution, and we offer customers a differentiated, high-quality, mobile-first entertainment experience,” said Randall Stephenson, chairman and chief executive officer of AT&T Inc.
The head honcho also adds, “We’re going to bring a fresh approach to how the media and entertainment industry works for consumers, content creators, distributors and advertisers.”
Aside from the telecommunication entities, the company also owns the the IPTV service AT&T U-verse, direct-to-home service DirecTV, and regional sports channels AT&T SportsNet.
The company also announced that John Stankey, the CEO of AT&T Entertainment Group, will take over as the head of the company’s newest subsidiary, which will now be known as WarnerMedia.
But when asked regarding the name-change, Stankey explained in a memo, “The short answer is that it tested very well externally as a naming convention that holds the valuable HBO, Turner and Warner Bros. brands.”
“In addition, we felt that maintaining an element of the proud, established and successful Time Warner is a testament and sign of respect for both its history and for you, as architects of that legacy,” He added.
The new head also adds that the name change is also to create a distance from TimeWarner Cable, which was a pay-TV entity formerly owned by the company.
The entity was renamed as Spectrum in May 2016, when it was acquired by Charter Communications
