AT&T to take on ragtag Netflix with upscale 'HBO and more' streaming video service
AT&T may soon become your exclusive HBO content streamer
It could potentially skip middlemen like Netflix for new original programming but also for reruns, segmenting the streaming video market even more. AT&T's CW Network, for instance, which provides popular shows like "Riverdale," "Arrow" and "The Flash" to Netflix, may at some point switch to the carrier's own service after the deal with Netflix expires. After all, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson is on record with the following Netflix dis:
HBO is a very, very unique asset. I think of Netflix kind of as the Walmart of [subscription video on-demand services]. HBO is kind of the Tiffany.
Needless to say, it's HBO programming that most people will be after, that is why AT&T plans to make it the pinnacle of its future video streamer. After all, the move to 5G may replace cable broadband for many subscribers.
It could also usher in a new wave of demand for carrier services, and AT&T wants to be ready with rich entertainment offers as well, rather than simply serve as the proverbial dumb pipe for cellular data. Mum's the word on pricing and subscriber restrictions of AT&T's upcoming video-on-demand streamer just yet, but Apple is also gearing up to launch one next year, and the field is getting busy.
source: WSJ (paywall)
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