Apple monitoring AT&T's potential merger with Time Warner, report says
As rumors fly over a potential tie-up between AT&T and Time Warner, a report on Friday claims Apple approached the media company about a potential merger months ago, though talks failed to progress past a preliminary stage.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal reports Apple executives under CEO Tim Cook met with counterparts at Time Warner "a few months ago" to discuss a possible buyout. Though the talks bore no fruit, Apple is said to be monitoring similar overtures from AT&T that could result in a deal as soon as this weekend.
Today's report echoes rumors from May suggesting Apple mulled a buyout of Time Warner in 2015. At the time, reports claimed the merger topic came up during a meeting between iTunes chief Eddy Cue and Time Warner's head of corporate strategy Olaf Olafsson, but talks never progressed beyond early stage conversations.
Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes in August laid rumors to rest when he said the meeting was part of a larger strategy discuss user experience solutions with technology companies, Apple included.
"That particular one is more about the efforts of the technology companies, Apple included, who we've been trying to help because we want this better user interface, and what they should do and how would they get involved," Bewkes said when asked about Cue's sit-down with Olafsson. "That's more about that than M&A. I don't think M&A was serious."
Serious or not, today's report claims Apple is closely monitoring the AT&T buyout proceedings. If the telco can raise the capital, it will score rights to Time Warner's massive content empire, including the likes of HBO, TNT, and CNN. The package would go a long way toward advancing AT&T's strategy to push into the media and entertainment industry, a plan put in motion when it acquired DirecTV for $48.5 billion last year.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal reports Apple executives under CEO Tim Cook met with counterparts at Time Warner "a few months ago" to discuss a possible buyout. Though the talks bore no fruit, Apple is said to be monitoring similar overtures from AT&T that could result in a deal as soon as this weekend.
Today's report echoes rumors from May suggesting Apple mulled a buyout of Time Warner in 2015. At the time, reports claimed the merger topic came up during a meeting between iTunes chief Eddy Cue and Time Warner's head of corporate strategy Olaf Olafsson, but talks never progressed beyond early stage conversations.
Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes in August laid rumors to rest when he said the meeting was part of a larger strategy discuss user experience solutions with technology companies, Apple included.
"That particular one is more about the efforts of the technology companies, Apple included, who we've been trying to help because we want this better user interface, and what they should do and how would they get involved," Bewkes said when asked about Cue's sit-down with Olafsson. "That's more about that than M&A. I don't think M&A was serious."
Serious or not, today's report claims Apple is closely monitoring the AT&T buyout proceedings. If the telco can raise the capital, it will score rights to Time Warner's massive content empire, including the likes of HBO, TNT, and CNN. The package would go a long way toward advancing AT&T's strategy to push into the media and entertainment industry, a plan put in motion when it acquired DirecTV for $48.5 billion last year.
Comments
I think Apple only wants HBO, not the whole enchilada.
http://www.aboveavalon.com/notes/2016/10/20/apples-trojan-horse-into-hollywood
Hulu is releasing probably the best cord cutting package yet discussed.
http://www.fiercecable.com/cable/hulu-s-live-tv-service-reportedly-will-start-at-35-month-more-than-both-sling-tv-and
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/what-hulu-gains-time-warners-917174
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-time-warner-m-a-at-t-idUSKCN12L1Y0
rather them figure out how to turn ITunes into a NFLX type offering than make a content acquisition..Charge me $10 to my itunes account for all access to ITunes Movie Library and I wouldn't even blink (minus some recent movies).....
HBO is the only attractive asset to Apple
I don't see big money in cord cutting packages, the market is not big enough and too many options.
Once the government agrees to deregulate the set-top box, cord cutting will loose even more luster
I think the problem Apple is facing In terms of opening up iTunes is that the studios won't let them since ITS is the new premium market. And basically the only premium market. Sure there's BD but how many people use BD? Otherwise everything else is nickel amd
dime if they open up the store to a monthly studios lose big time. I'm not sure how they would limit consumption so that you'd want to pay top dollar for anything. It's like this. You go to a movie and down the road they want you to buy the "VHS, DVD, BD, 4K BD, download movie, (insert your format here). Then way down the line when everyone who's going to BUY the movie has bought it you open it up to rentals, syndication on premium channels like starts or HBO, a year later you'll see it in FX whatever on down the line. If you open up the ITS how would studios make money. $10/ month gets you Netflix. And their selection is kind of piss poor when it comes to streaming blockbuster movies. That's the case for a reason. The studios will NEVER give up their premium market. it would be like Rolex deciding to rent and lease their watches hoping that they rent and lease SO MANY that they'll make a killing. When they know they'll never lease enough watches to ever touch the value of current market. No one buys physical media. ITS is THE market. Imagine you could borrow any movie or record from Tower Records back in the day for $10-20/ month. Do you think the studios would ha e gone for that? No way. You had to wait until the movie trickled down into that market. They are not giving up the first bite at Apple nor the second. For a reasonble monthly you will get a bite at what's left of the core.
This is Time Warner the media company that owns movie studios, cable networks and comics. I believe they spun off Time Warner cable back in 2009.
The entertainment biz is poison, and it doesn't make people's lives better, it makes them worse. The more the masses are diverted by thrills, the less they know history, or even what's going on in the present.
I would hate to see Apple making money on stupifying people. And as you say, core competency — tech artists don't have the perverse money-grubbing instincts that's fueled Hollywood and the TV business for a couple of generations, if not from the very beginning.
What if at&t and Apple have a deal to co-own TimeWarner or split it.
What are the chances that AT&T all by itself would buy DirectTV for 48 billion and then TimeWarner for 85 billion.
That sure is risky business with a changing media landscape.
"Among its assets are New Line Cinema, Home Box Office, Turner Broadcasting System, The CW Television Network, Warner Bros., CNN, Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Adult Swim, DC Comics, Warner Bros. Animation, Castle Rock Entertainment, Cartoon Network Studios, Esporte Interativo, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and as of August 2016, it owns 10% of Hulu."
{ INSERT COMPANY NAME } monitoring AT&T's potential merger.
crying inside