BUSINESS / ANALYSIS

AT&T-Discovery deal highlights media's thirst to be like Netflix

David Zaslav, president and CEO of Discovery, speaks during the Discovery portion of the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour in Beverly Hills, California, in July 2019. | REUTERS

By Helen Coster
Reuters

May 18, 2021

Since AT&T bought Time Warner in 2018 to compete with Netflix and Disney, the world of streaming video has only gotten more cutthroat.

The telecom giant’s deal with Discovery Inc., announced Monday, marks the latest shift in the remaking of the media industry and the potential beginning of another round of consolidation. An earlier wave three years ago resulted in media mogul Rupert Murdoch leaving Hollywood and Viacom and CBS recombining.

The deal combining Discovery with AT&T Inc.'s WarnerMedia underscores the value of scale in today’s media landscape, where industry leaders Netflix Inc. and Walt Disney Co. are looking outside the United States for growth.

AT&T-Discovery deal highlights media's thirst to be like Netflix

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