Draft:Acquisition of Time Warner by AT&T: Difference between revisions

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Time Warner was the result of the merger between [[Time Inc.]] and [[WarnerMedia|Warner Communications]] from 1989 to 1990.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Greenwald |first=John |date=August 7, 1989 |title=All Hitched Up and Ready to Go: Time Warner |url=https://time.com/archive/6703113/all-hitched-up-and-ready-to-gotime-warner/ |access-date=September 15, 2025 |website=TIME Magazine}}</ref> Warner Communications, founded by [[Steve Ross (businessman)|Steven Ross]], started out as [[Kinney National Company|Kinney National]] in the [[Tertiary sector|service industry]], before transitioning to entertainment and cable after acquiring [[Warner Bros.|Warner Bros]]. Time Inc., founded by [[Henry Luce]], controlled over a hundred [[Magazine|magazines]] by 1989.<ref>{{Cite news |last=McClintick |first=David |date=April 10, 1994 |title=The Man Who Swallowed Time Inc. (Published 1994) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/10/books/the-man-who-swallowed-time-inc.html |archive-url=https://archive.is/20230712031647/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/10/books/the-man-who-swallowed-time-inc.html#selection-377.0-377.31 |archive-date=July 12, 2023 |access-date=September 19, 2025 |language=en}}</ref> Time Warner was the largest entertainment company during the 1990s and 2000s, but debt from its merger led it to form the Time Warner Entertainment limited partnership with [[US West]] (a baby bell). Time Warner’s acquisition of [[Turner Broadcasting System]] in 1996 gave it a [[Cable television|cable network]] portfolio including [[CNN]] and [[TBS (American TV channel)|TBS]].<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F30IUDAtB3o&list=PL4uxCF582bsyqsJjsR4ORvMKYPOqK0cJm |title=Turner And Time Warner Merger On CBS Evening News (09-22-1995) |date=May 5, 2025 |last=Jesus Gonzalez Castillo |access-date=September 19, 2025 |via=[[YouTube]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=UPI Archives |date=October 10, 1996 |title=TBS holders approve Time Warner deal – UPI Archives |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1996/10/10/TBS-holders-approve-Time-Warner-deal/8817844920000/ |access-date=September 19, 2025 |website=UPI |language=en}}</ref> In 1998, US West became [[MediaOne]] and was acquired by AT&T Broadband. This gave AT&T Corp a 25% stake in the Time Warner partnership and marked the first relations between the companies. <ref>{{Cite news |last=Shapiro |first=Eben |date=April 26, 1999 |title=Time Warner Could Reap Advantages If AT&T Bid for MediaOne Is Successful – WSJ |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB925073363686923010 |archive-url=https://archive.is/20230820034528/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB925073363686923010 |archive-date=August 20, 2023 |access-date=September 19, 2025 |work=Wall Street Journal |language=en-US |issn=0099-9660}}</ref>

In 2000, [[AOL|America Online]] agreed to acquire Time Warner in a deal valued over $150 Billion. The merger was the largest of its time and ~~occurred~~ at the height of the [[Dot-com bubble|Dot Com Bubble]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=November 13, 2009 |title=AOL-Time Warner merger announced {{!}} January 10, 2000 |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/january-10/aol-time-warner-formed |access-date=September 19, 2025 |website= |language=en}}</ref> On January 11, 2001, the merger closed, and the company, AOL Time Warner, was supposed to be a blend of [[Mass media|traditional media]] with [[digital media]], but it went on the become one of the infamous mergers in corporate history. The expected synergies between AOL and Time Warner never formalized and over $90 Billion in losses.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 30, 2003 |title=AOL Time Warner Posts Record $99 Billion Annual Loss |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/media-jan-june03-aoltw_01-30 |access-date=September 19, 2025 |website=PBS News |language=en-us}}</ref> This led to architects of the merger like [[Gerald M. Levin|Gerald Levin]] and [[Steve Case]] along with executives like [[Ted Turner]] to resign from the company. By 2003, Time Warner removed AOL from its corporate name and gained full ownership of Time Warner Entertainment.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Comcast Corporation |first= |date=March 31, 2003 |title=AOL Time Warner and Comcast Report Successful Completion of Time Warner Entertainment Restructuring |url=https://corporate.comcast.com/news-information/news-feed/aol-time-warner-and-comcast-report-successful-completion-of-time-warner-entertainment-restructuring |access-date=September 19, 2025 |website=corporate.comcast.com}}</ref> Subsidiaries like [[Warner Music Group]], [[Hachette Book Group|AOL Time Warner Book Group]], and [[Time Warner Cable]] were either sold or spun off to bring down Time Warner’s debt. [[Jeff Bewkes]] spun of AOL from Time Warner in 2009 and Time Inc in 2014. Despite spinning off Time Inc, Time Warner kept its name. [[21st Century Fox]] and [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] executives held talks with acquiring Time Warner but were unsuccessful.

In 2000, [[AOL|America Online]] agreed to acquire Time Warner in a deal valued over $150 Billion. The merger was the largest of its time and at the height of the [[Dot-com bubble|Dot Com Bubble]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=November 13, 2009 |title=AOL-Time Warner merger announced {{!}} January 10, 2000 |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/january-10/aol-time-warner-formed |access-date=September 19, 2025 |website= |language=en}}</ref> On January 11, 2001, the merger closed, and the company, AOL Time Warner, was supposed to be a blend of [[Mass media|traditional media]] with [[digital media]], but it went on the become one of the infamous mergers in corporate history. The expected synergies between AOL and Time Warner never formalized and over $90 Billion in losses.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 30, 2003 |title=AOL Time Warner Posts Record $99 Billion Annual Loss |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/media-jan-june03-aoltw_01-30 |access-date=September 19, 2025 |website=PBS News |language=en-us}}</ref> This led to architects of the merger like [[Gerald M. Levin|Gerald Levin]] and [[Steve Case]] along with executives like [[Ted Turner]] to resign from the company. By 2003, Time Warner removed AOL from its corporate name and gained full ownership of Time Warner Entertainment.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Comcast Corporation |first= |date=March 31, 2003 |title=AOL Time Warner and Comcast Report Successful Completion of Time Warner Entertainment Restructuring |url=https://corporate.comcast.com/news-information/news-feed/aol-time-warner-and-comcast-report-successful-completion-of-time-warner-entertainment-restructuring |access-date=September 19, 2025 |website=corporate.comcast.com}}</ref> Subsidiaries like [[Warner Music Group]], [[Hachette Book Group|AOL Time Warner Book Group]], and [[Time Warner Cable]] were either sold or spun off to bring down Time Warner’s debt. [[Jeff Bewkes]] spun of AOL from Time Warner in 2009 and Time Inc in 2014. Despite spinning off Time Inc, Time Warner kept its name. [[21st Century Fox]] and [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] executives held talks with acquiring Time Warner but were unsuccessful.

== Acquisition developments and Regulatory scrutiny ==

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== Works cited ==

{{Cite book |last=Coll |first=Steve |title=The Deal of the Century: The Breakup of AT&T |date=January 1, 1988 |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |year=1988 |isbn=9780671645922 |language=English}}

== References ==<!– Inline citations added to your article will automatically display here. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:REFB for instructions on how to add citations. –>

Media Acquisition done from 2016 to 2018

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AT&T, then the largest telecom company,^[1] announced its intent on October 22, 2016, to acquire Time Warner (parent company of Warner Bros, Turner Broadcasting and HBO) for $85.4 billion.^[2] By February 2017, Shareholders of Time Warner voted to approve AT&T’s takeover.^[3] The landmark deal faced regulatory scrutiny and on November 20, 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against AT&T, citing concerns of unfair competition. ^[4] AT&T and the DOJ went through a six-week court battle in early 2018, ^[5] but the US District Courts ruled in AT&T’s favor on June 12, 2018 ^[6] and allowed it to proceed with acquiring Time Warner. After the acquisition, Time Warner (renamed WarnerMedia) ^[7] became a subsidiary of AT&T. In October 2018, AT&T planned to develop a streaming service ^[8] using WarnerMedia’s content library and launched HBO Max in 2020.^[9]^[10]

The Department of Justice sought to undo AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner and appealed to the U.S. District Court of Appeals D.C. Circuit.^[11] In February 2019, the Circuit Courts upheld the 2018 ruling and the DOJ ceased further attempts at undoing the acquisition.^[12] After nearly three years of managing WarnerMedia, AT&T stated in May 2021 that it would spin-off WarnerMedia to merge with Discovery, Inc.^[13] The WarnerMedia and Discovery merger closed on April 8, 2022, and Warner Bros. Discovery was formed.^[14] AT&T fully left the media industry in 2025 after selling its majority stake in DirecTV. ^[15]^[16]

Background History of AT&T and Time Warner

AT&T’s corporate affairs (1885 – 2005), (2005 – 2015)

AT&T’s One AT&T Plaza (pictured in Dallas, Texas)

The oldest company in AT&T’s corporate lineage was the Bell Telephone Company, founded by Alexander Graham Bell in 1877. Bell Co. created the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (the original AT&T Corporation) in 1885 and eventually merged with it in 1889. This transferred control of the Bell System to AT&T Corp and allowed it to oversee a vast network of regional telecom companies in a regulated monopoly over America’s telecom sector. AT&T Corp’s unrivaled influence in the telecom industry earned it the nickname “Ma Bell”. In 1974, the U.S. Department of Justice sued AT&T in the case of United States V. AT&T for antitrust violations and by 1982, AT&T reached a settlement with the DOJ to breakup its Bell System monopoly. The Bell System ended in 1984 and became several regional “baby bell” companies.^[17]

After the breakup, AT&T Corp ventured into new industries during the late 1980s and 1990s. It formed AT&T Broadband to handle its cable and internet operations, AT&T Wireless to manage its wireless broadband, and AT&T Consumer and AT&T Business Services to offer long-distance and enterprise telecom services. Despite this diversification, AT&T Corp spun off its Broadband and Wireless divisions by 2002.^[18]^[19] SBC Communications, the smallest of the “baby bells”, went on to acquire several baby bell companies from 1996 to 1998 after the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 which deregulated the telecom sector. In 2005, SBC acquired its former parent, AT&T Corp, and renamed itself AT&T Inc., while retaining its corporate structure. ^[20]^[21] Under CEO Randall L. Stephenson, AT&T made major media investments in the Otter Media joint venture and acquiring DirecTV in 2015. ^[22]

Time Warner’s corporate affairs (1990 – 2001), (2001-2014)

Time Warner was the result of the merger between Time Inc. and Warner Communications from 1989 to 1990.^[23] Warner Communications, founded by Steven Ross, started out as Kinney National in the service industry, before transitioning to entertainment and cable after acquiring Warner Bros. Time Inc., founded by Henry Luce, controlled over a hundred magazines by 1989.^[24] Time Warner was the largest entertainment company during the 1990s and 2000s, but debt from its merger led it to form the Time Warner Entertainment limited partnership with US West (a baby bell). Time Warner’s acquisition of Turner Broadcasting System in 1996 gave it a cable network portfolio including CNN and TBS.^[25]^[26] In 1998, US West became MediaOne and was acquired by AT&T Broadband. This gave AT&T Corp a 25% stake in the Time Warner partnership and marked the first relations between the companies. ^[27]

In 2000, America Online agreed to acquire Time Warner in a deal valued over $150 Billion. The merger was the largest of its time and happened at the height of the Dot Com Bubble.^[28] On January 11, 2001, the merger closed, and the company, AOL Time Warner, was supposed to be a blend of traditional media with digital media, but it went on the become one of the infamous mergers in corporate history. The expected synergies between AOL and Time Warner never formalized and over $90 Billion in losses occurred.^[29] This led to architects of the merger like Gerald Levin and Steve Case along with executives like Ted Turner to resign from the company. By 2003, Time Warner removed AOL from its corporate name and gained full ownership of Time Warner Entertainment.^[30] Subsidiaries like Warner Music Group, AOL Time Warner Book Group, and Time Warner Cable were either sold or spun off to bring down Time Warner’s debt. Jeff Bewkes spun of AOL from Time Warner in 2009 and Time Inc in 2014. Despite spinning off Time Inc, Time Warner kept its name. 21st Century Fox and Apple executives held talks with acquiring Time Warner but were unsuccessful.

Acquisition developments and Regulatory scrutiny

AT&T discussed possibilities of acquiring CBS Corporation from Summer and Shari Redstone before eyeing Time Warner. ^[31]

Works cited

Coll, Steve (January 1, 1988). The Deal of the Century: The Breakup of AT&T. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9780671645922.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)

References

^ Gara, Antoine (May 24, 2017). “The World’s Largest Telecom Companies: AT&T And Verizon Top China Mobile”. Forbes. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
^ Gryta, Thomas; Hagey, Keach; Cimilluca, Dana; Sharma, Amol (October 22, 2016). “AT&T Reaches Deal to Buy Time Warner for $85.4 Billion”. The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
^ Vlessing, Etan (February 15, 2017). “Time Warner Shareholders Approve AT&T Deal”. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
^ “Office of Public Affairs | Justice Department Challenges AT&T/DirecTV’s Acquisition of Time Warner | United States Department of Justice”. www.justice.gov. November 20, 2017. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
^ LegalClarityTeam (July 21, 2025). “United States v. AT&T: The Time Warner Merger Case”. LegalClarity. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
^ Ivanova, Irina (June 12, 2018). “AT&T – Time Warner merger approved without conditions – judge rules today; Time Warner stock price rises in after-hours trading – CBS News”. www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
^ Morgan, Richard (June 16, 2018). “Time Warner will be renamed Warner Media, Turner CEO exits”. New York Post. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
^ Clark, Travis (October 10, 2018). “AT&T will jump into the streaming bloodbath by launching a Netflix competitor next year”. Business Insider. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
^ Steigrad, Alexandria (October 29, 2019). “AT&T to launch HBO Max streaming service in May 2020 to compete with Netflix”. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
^ “TRT Global – AT&T launches HBO Max, vying with Netflix, others for quarantine viewing”. trt.global. May 27, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
^ Gasparino, Charlie (July 11, 2018). “Justice Department to appeal AT&T-Time Warner case”. FOXBusiness. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
^ Bartz, Diane; Shepardson, David (February 26, 2019). “U.S. Justice Dept will not appeal AT&T, Time Warner merger after court loss”. Reuters. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
^ James, Meg; Battaglio, Stephen (May 17, 2021). “AT&T to spin off HBO, other WarnerMedia assets in a huge deal with Discovery. What went wrong?”. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 17, 2021. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
^ “Combination of Discovery and WarnerMedia Creates Warner Bros. Discovery, Global Leader in Entertainment and Streaming”. April 8, 2022. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
^ Picher, Aimee; Sherter, Alain (September 30, 2024). “AT&T sells stake in DirecTV for $7.6 billion as it exits entertainment biz, as DirecTV buys Dish – CBS News”. www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
^ Green, Timothy (October 2, 2024). “AT&T Finally Gets Out of the Media Business With DIRECTV Sale”. The Montley Fool. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
^ Gianforti, Adrian (January 24, 2022). “This Month in Business History: AT&T Monopoly & Breakup of the Bell System”. History Factory. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
^ Borland, John (October 25, 2000). “Despite breakup, AT&T continues to reshape telecom landscape”. CNET. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
^ Flint, Joe (November 15, 2002). “AT&T Sets Broadband Spinoff Date”. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
^ “SBC completes purchase of AT&T”. NBC News. November 18, 2005. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
^ Rojas, Peter (February 2, 2005). “The Engadget Guide to AT&T Wireless/Cingular/SBC/AT&T merger mania”. Engadget. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
^ Gryta, Thomas (July 24, 2015). “AT&T Closes $49 Billion DirecTV Buy”. Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on October 16, 2015. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
^ Greenwald, John (August 7, 1989). “All Hitched Up and Ready to Go: Time Warner”. TIME Magazine. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
^ McClintick, David (April 10, 1994). “The Man Who Swallowed Time Inc. (Published 1994)”. Archived from the original on July 12, 2023. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
^ Jesus Gonzalez Castillo (May 5, 2025). Turner And Time Warner Merger On CBS Evening News (09-22-1995). Retrieved September 19, 2025 – via YouTube.
^ UPI Archives (October 10, 1996). “TBS holders approve Time Warner deal – UPI Archives”. UPI. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
^ Shapiro, Eben (April 26, 1999). “Time Warner Could Reap Advantages If AT&T Bid for MediaOne Is Successful – WSJ”. Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on August 20, 2023. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
^ “AOL-Time Warner merger announced | January 10, 2000”. November 13, 2009. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
^ “AOL Time Warner Posts Record $99 Billion Annual Loss”. PBS News. January 30, 2003. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
^ Comcast Corporation (March 31, 2003). “AOL Time Warner and Comcast Report Successful Completion of Time Warner Entertainment Restructuring”. corporate.comcast.com. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
^ Flint, Joe; FitzGerald, Drew (June 24, 2018). “AT&T Expressed Interest in CBS to Shari Redstone Before Time Warner Deal”. Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on June 24, 2018. Retrieved September 15, 2025.