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View Full Version : Reuters: AT&T agrees to buy Time Warner (HBO, CNN, DC Comics) for $85 billion

CyberCubed
10-21-2016, 07:06 PM
This has to deal with TV and DC, so I guess I'll post it here:

AT&T Inc (T.N) has reached an agreement in principle to buy Time Warner Inc (TWX.N) for about $85 billion, sources said on Friday, paving the way for a blockbuster deal that would give the telecom company control of cable TV channels HBO and CNN, film studio Warner Bros and other coveted media assets.

The deal, which has been agreed on most terms and could be announced as early as Sunday, would be one of the largest in recent years in the sector as telecommunications companies look to combine content and distribution to capture customers replacing traditional pay-TV packages with more streamlined offerings and online delivery.

AT&T will pay $110 per Time Warner share, or about $85 billion overall, sources told Reuters. That would make it the biggest deal in the world this year.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GChYRUcM5s0/maxresdefault.jpg

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-time-warner-m-a-at-t-idUSKCN12L1Y0
Raph's Girl
10-21-2016, 07:40 PM
I don't wanna welcome this new overlord.....
TheSkeletonMan939
10-21-2016, 07:43 PM
I hope the CEO of AT&T is a Marvel fan.
Maybe he can spare us of all these sure-to-be-bad DC movies.
CyberCubed
10-21-2016, 07:55 PM
Isn't this big news?

I remember people going crazy when Disney first announced they were buying Marvel and then Star Wars a couple years ago.
TheSkeletonMan939
10-21-2016, 08:37 PM
Meh, no one cares about WB or DC.
sdp
10-21-2016, 09:24 PM
Of course this is big news, it's a huge acquisition and bigger than Disney buying Marvel or Lucasfilm.
CyberCubed
10-21-2016, 10:44 PM
Then why is nobody flipping out? I remember online fandoms when ballistic when they heard Disney was buying Marvel for the first time. Disney also buying Star Wars was quite a surprise too.

Why isn't everyone up in arms coming up with conspiracy theories and shouting from rooftops? Where are the bizarre overreactions and angry rants from fanboys? Where is the madness?

Either that or I'm not looking in the right places.
TigerClaw
10-21-2016, 10:52 PM
Then why is nobody flipping out? I remember online fandoms when ballistic when they heard Disney was buying Marvel for the first time. Disney also buying Star Wars was quite a surprise too.

Why isn't everyone up in arms coming up with conspiracy theories and shouting from rooftops? Where are the bizarre overreactions and angry rants from fanboys? Where is the madness?

Either that or I'm not looking in the right places.
Nobody flipped out when Comcast bought NBC Universal, I don't think anything is going to happen with the acquisition.
sdp
10-21-2016, 11:19 PM
Then why is nobody flipping out?


Because as much as nerds like to be armchair CEOs in discussions about they're favorite companies they don't actually care for these things. Disney buying Lucasfilm meant new movies and Marvel meant they were financially set for life etc. This deal means not much is going to change with DC and just like Comcast buying NBC Universal only certain people will be interested not online nerds.
ZariusTwo
10-22-2016, 05:59 AM
Meh, no one cares about WB or DC.

People have been raving about DC beating Marvel in the comics charts for months, so wrong
plastroncafe
10-22-2016, 07:50 AM
Then why is nobody flipping out? I remember online fandoms when ballistic when they heard Disney was buying Marvel for the first time. Disney also buying Star Wars was quite a surprise too.

Why isn't everyone up in arms coming up with conspiracy theories and shouting from rooftops? Where are the bizarre overreactions and angry rants from fanboys? Where is the madness?

Either that or I'm not looking in the right places.

Be the change you want to see in the world.
oldmanwinters
10-22-2016, 08:42 AM
I love the irony that AT&T owns Time Warner, but Time Warner Cable is owned by their direct competitor Charter Communications.

I think Disney's purchases were more interesting from a news point of view because Disney specifically went after the Marvel, Star Wars, etc. brands rather than simply buying companies that owned various brands, as is the case with AT&T. DC comics and Warner Bros. have been small pieces of many huge buyout deals, including the infamous Time-Warner/AOL deal in 2000 that more-or-less sunk Ted Turner's empire.
ZariusTwo
10-23-2016, 09:00 AM
Guess who wants to block this

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2016/10/23/will-donald-trump-stop-att-comics/
Cryomancer
10-23-2016, 02:35 PM
I love the irony that AT&T owns Time Warner, but Time Warner Cable is owned by their direct competitor Charter Communications.

I think Disney's purchases were more interesting from a news point of view because Disney specifically went after the Marvel, Star Wars, etc. brands rather than simply buying companies that owned various brands, as is the case with AT&T. DC comics and Warner Bros. have been small pieces of many huge buyout deals, including the infamous Time-Warner/AOL deal in 2000 that more-or-less sunk Ted Turner's empire.

Yeah this is probably more "interesting" from the telecommunications angle in this case.

The Disney buyouts were more major from a fan angle because now Star Wars and Marvel can legally co-mingle and stuff like that.
Spike Spiegel
10-23-2016, 03:08 PM
Guess who wants to block this

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2016/10/23/will-donald-trump-stop-att-comics/

https://i.imgflip.com/c6i80.gif

Just imagine--officially licensed DC Comics emojis and ringtones.

I don't see how this would change the comics and their tie-in materials, though I could be very wrong.
Andrew NDB
10-23-2016, 03:37 PM
I'm genuinely curious... is there any upside to this merger?
ProactiveMan
10-24-2016, 02:43 AM
"Have to save Martha… money on high-speed wireless broadband..."
MontanaMax1982
11-02-2016, 11:51 AM
Isn't this big news?

I remember people going crazy when Disney first announced they were buying Marvel and then Star Wars a couple years ago.

You mean Lucasfilm LTD studios. they own US distributation rights to Ghibli and also Muppets rights from Jim Henson Studios and also Pixar
Redeemer
11-02-2016, 03:40 PM
Hopefully this deal is blocked. There is a upside and downside to big business, but as others have said there doesn't appear to be any upside to this deal.
NinjaPug
06-12-2018, 04:03 PM
It's official. The federal judge approved the merger today.
Andrew NDB
06-12-2018, 04:41 PM
It's official. The federal judge approved the merger today.

Well... since the higher-ups at WB are clueless, this can only really be a good thing.
NinjaPug
06-12-2018, 06:17 PM
Well... since the higher-ups at WB are clueless, this can only really be a good thing.

Eh. That would be the only positive of this but who knows if/when they make any changes.

I don't like this simply based on what could happen. Service providers don't need to be in charge of IP/content at this level. Now they can dictate who has access to certain content at whatever price they want.
MikeandRaph87
06-12-2018, 07:18 PM
So is it a merger or AT&T now in charge of Time Warner?
sdp
06-12-2018, 09:37 PM
Merger is a trick word, there's always one company that eats the other despite it and yes in this case AT&T would own Time Warner. Time Warner previously had a hostile take over by AOL, anyone remember how that went?

You don't want a service providers to be in control of the media as well, you're not looking at the big picture Andrew. Even so AT&T would likely let whoever is running things to run things as they don't have experience otherwise.