AT&T Chief Takes Stand to Defend Time Warner Deal
April 19 2018 - 2:10PM
Dow Jones News
By Brent Kendall and Drew FitzGerald
WASHINGTON -- AT&T Inc. Chief Executive Randall Stephenson
began his eagerly awaited testimony in court Thursday in defense of
his company's proposed Time Warner Inc. acquisition, calling it a
"vision deal" that was crucial for AT&T to compete in a rapidly
shifting digital-media landscape.
Time Warner "met all the needs we were looking for," Mr.
Stephenson told U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, who is deciding
whether to allow the $85 billion transaction.
The AT&T chief took the witness stand shortly after noon in
a dark suit and blue tie, explaining his long history with the
company and how he came to believe that AT&T, with its wireless
and satellite assets, needed to own a media company like Time
Warner, which owns the Turner networks, HBO and Warner Bros.
studios.
Mr. Stephenson said AT&T was focused on growing so it could
compete for advertising dollars with technology giants like
Amazon.com Inc., Facebook Inc. and Google owner Alphabet Inc.,
rather than the traditional TV providers that vie for its customers
today.
The digital giants have become masters of keeping customers
engaged on their platforms, including through the use or premium
video, and AT&T wants to do the same, Mr. Stephenson said. To
do that, "we need to own content," he said.
The CEO in his early testimony didn't directly address the
Justice Department's antitrust claims against the merger, but he
did implicitly push back on some of the government's arguments,
including that AT&T, which owns DirecTV, might threaten to
withhold the Turner Networks from rival pay-TV distributors like
Dish Network Corp. or Charter Communications Inc.
Mr. Stephenson said wide distribution was key to Time Warner's
success. "The value of a content company is a function of how many
people watch it. Period," he said.
The Justice Department will get a chance to cross-examine Mr.
Stephenson later in the afternoon.
The AT&T head is the final witness the companies are putting
on the stand in the case. The trial, which began in mid-March,
could wrap up next week. Judge Leon's decision isn't expected for
several more weeks.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 19, 2018 14:55 ET (18:55 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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