Looking to assemble an arsenal to compete against powerful technology titans Google and Apple, telephone giant AT&T is scrambling to seal a massive deal to buy a crown jewel of media — Time Warner Inc.Time Warner owns HBO, CNN, TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network and Hollywood’s biggest television and film studio, Warner Bros. The company also has tried to grow its revenues by bundling its services and has offered generous incentives for AT&T phone customers to subscribe to DirecTV. Buying Time Warner would give AT&T access to first-class TV and movie production capabilities, and premier media brands. Owning content has become an increasingly more valuable part of the media equation, particularly as media companies — including Time Warner — push into foreign markets. Netflix has outpaced — and outspent — Time Warner’s HBO to become the dominant premium content service, with more than 85 million subscribers worldwide.

Source: Los Angeles Times October 21, 2016 23:51 UTC