Cord-Cutting Gains Momentum
In the fourth quarter, two million US subscribers cut the cord on traditional television packages from AT&T, Comcast, Charter, and Verizon, up from 1.7 million in the third quarter.
DirecTV
New Details Emerge About HBO Max
AT&T’s WarnerMedia released details about its forthcoming streaming service HBO Max, which will officially launch in May 2020. The service will cost $14.99 a month, the same cost as HBO’s flagship service.
Lionsgate Considers Separation
Lionsgate is said to be in talks to split its film and television production business from its recently acquired premium-channel Starz into separate companies.
Cord Cutting Continues
During the second quarter, DirecTV’s traditional satellite service lost 778,000 subscribers and its streaming service DirecTV Now lost 168,000 accounts.
Cord Cutting Accelerates
There is even more bad news for pay television providers. Unlike 2017, subscribers signing up for cheaper online television bundles are starting to contract.
Buyer’s Remorse
Beyond maintaining AT&T’s core telecom business, the company is beset with declining DirecTV subscribers and a host of problems at Time Warner and Warner Bros.
Monopolies Win Again
AT&T finally won its two-year anti-trust litigation against the United States Justice Department to acquire Time Warner.
AT&T’s Big Gamble
The DirecTV deal was AT&T’s first big gamble on the filmed entertainment distribution market. DirecTV has been shedding subscribers since the beginning of 2017.
TIFF Film Rights and More
FilmTake surveys the latest distribution and financing deals that concluded before, during, and just after the Toronto Film Festival.
Google Woos Cord Cutters
YouTube TV will now include live sports and content from Time Warner to kick-start its takeover of terrestrial and cable television.