Randall Stephenson


WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey gets expanded remit at AT&T

WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey has been appointed president and COO of HBO parent group AT&T. The role – which will begin in October – sets up the long-time AT&T exec as the successor to chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson, whom he now reports into. Stankey first joined AT&T in 1985 and has worked across all areas, […]

AT&T boss: WarnerMedia will take back ‘Friends’ for its SVOD

AT&T boss Randall Stephenson has said that the business will pull back titles such as Friends and The Big Bang Theory for its own platforms in the near future.  Speaking at the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference in Boston on Tuesday (14 May), the exec highlighted that WarnerMedia’s “key video product” will be integral in driving revenue […]

WarnerMedia to reveal details of streaming service in autumn

AT&T chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson has confirmed that WarnerMedia is to unveil its streaming service in the fourth quarter of 2019. During an AT&T earnings call, Stephenson said the company is planning to demonstrate the paid video service to investors in either September or October. “We’re going to give you a detailed look at […]

AT&T boss: Netflix is the Walmart of media

AT&T boss and chairman Randall Stephenson has compared Netflix to US retail brand Walmart and HBO to jeweller Tiffany & Co in a bid to distinguish the competing brands. The exec, speaking at the 27th annual Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference in Dallas on Wednesday (12 September), likened the streaming giant to the US discount department […]

US gov’t blocks AT&T’s Time Warner takeover

The US Department for Justice (DoJ) has blocked AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner and filed a lawsuit to prevent it. The justice department has said that the merger, valued at US$85 billion, will reduce competition and raise prices for consumers. Makan Delrahim, the assistant attorney general for the Department for Justice’s antitrust division, said: “It would […]

Game of Thrones fever drives Time Warner growth

The stunning viewing figures for Game of Thrones have pushed Time Warner and its subsidiary, HBO, to significant subscription growth. Premium cable network HBO saw its subscription revenues rise 13% year-on-year, its highest quarterly growth in 13 years. Revenues for the three months to September 30 at HBO were US$1.6 billion, up on the US$1.43 […]

AT&T plans reshuffle post Time Warner deal

AT&T is planning organisational changes to follow the US$85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc. The first move will see a redefined role for CEO Randall Stephenson, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the story. Stephenson will become executive chairman and oversee a pair of CEOs who will independently manage the company’s telecommunications and media […]

AT&T CEO: Time Warner deal ‘moving as expected’

Time Warner’s proposed merger with AT&T is “moving along as expected”. The chairman and CEO of US telecoms giant AT&T, Randall Stephenson, told analysts on an investor call his firm was “working closely” with the US Department of Justice to ensure the deal went ahead, and that progress had been made. AT&T announced it had […]

AT&T, Time Warner deal ‘poses new threat to rivals’

The creation of a merged AT&T and Time Warner will have rivals such as Netflix, Disney and Viacom “looking at their strategies with new eyes this morning”, according to a leading media analyst. Ed Barton of UK-based research house Ovum told TBI the implications were “fundamental” for “all distributors without a stake in content and all […]

AT&T completes DirecTV deal

AT&T has completed its US$49 billion acquisition of DirecTV following approval of the deal by the FCC. The acquisition makes AT&T the largest pay TV provider globally, providing services to over 26 million customers in the US and 19 million in Latin America and the Caribbean. The group also has over 132 million mobile customers […]