The top streaming services are projected to spend over $30 billion on content in 2020. This space is set to be highly competitive in the 2020s, and another major service is ready for launch in the spring.
AT&T (NYSE:T) will launch its HBO Max service in May 2020. The company competed its acquisition of Time Warner in the summer of 2018. In the months that followed, there was considerable internal friction between AT&T’s management and the leadership at Turner and HBO. In March 2019, long-time HBO CEO Richard Plepler stepped down from his post.
Reports indicate that AT&T is expecting more content from HBO going forward as it aims to compete with the content machine that is Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX).
AT&T forked over nearly half a billion to exclusively stream Friends on its new streaming service and paid a hefty $1-billion fee for rights to The Big Bang Theory, another popular sitcom which recently had its series finale.
These shows ruled television during their run, and Friends was one of the most popular streams on Netflix when it was on the service. AT&T is counting on the continued success of these brands going forward.
Shares of AT&T have climbed 32% year-over-year as of close on January 24. The stock has been mostly stagnant to kick off 2020. AT&T stock still possesses a favourable price-to-earnings ratio of 17 and a price-to-book value of 1.5. It also boasts a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, which represents a strong 5.4% yield.
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