AT&T acquired the owner of Warner Bros, the film studio behind the Harry Potter franchise, only three years ago for $85 billionLess than two years ago, the boss of AT&T said that there would be “no sacred cows” when it came to reviving a corporate giant spanning cable TV, broadband, mobile phones and the Warner Bros film studio. John Stankey was deadly serious. Since his promotion from chief operating officer to chief executive in July, he has butchered the conglomerate, spinning off AT&T’s ailing satellite television business and offloading its digital advertising division and an anime cartoon streaming app called Crunchyroll. SponsoredYesterday Stankey took the final step in his retreat from the world of entertainment with the $43 billion disposal of WarnerMedia to Discovery, its smaller rival. It marks a embarrassing about-turn for the telecoms group, which only three years ago splashed out $85 billion

Source: The Times May 17, 2021 16:02 UTC