AT&T’s WarnerMedia to launch new streaming service in late 2019
AT&T and its Warner Media division announced Wednesday it is preparing to launch a subscription video service by the end of next year that will offer movies and TV shows in direct competition with Netflix, Amazon, and Disney’s forthcoming streaming service.
The announcement of the service delivers on a promise AT&T made in June after shareholders approved the telecom company’s $85 billion purchase of Time Warner. AT&T now has a vast media and entertainment portfolio that includes HBO, CNN, Cartoon Network, the rights to major sports leagues and valuable film franchises. That purchase has put great pressure on AT&T to create more money-making services to sell directly to consumers.
”When we first discussed the benefits of combining WarnerMedia with AT&T, we saw the ability to create new consumer choices centered on unmatched options, value, quality, and experiences,” John Stankey, WarnerMedia Chief Executive, wrote in amemo to employees obtained by Reuters.
AT&T’s streaming service will include the WarnerMedia collection of films, television series, animation, documentaries, and more from many of the networks it now owns including HBO, Turner and Warner Bros.
Franchises that could be part of the service include Warner Bros. movies like the Harry Potter franchise, Wonder Woman, and TV shows like ER, Friends, The Big Bang Theory, and Game of Thrones.
WarnerMedia would have to bid to regain control of many of these shows that are currently syndicated on what will soon become competing services like CBS All Access, Hulu and Netflix. A company executive today estimated that a quarter of the WarnerMedia library licensed to other streaming services comes up for renewal every year.