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AT & T
Inc.
T 2.42%
Chief Executive Randall Stephenson said he hopes the profitability of some divisions will improve next year as the telecommunications company digests its record-breaking acquisition of media company Time Warner Inc.
Stephenson, who is also the president of the company, said the leaders were spending little time on a call from a Justice Department seeking to release the $ 81 billion deal, signed in June. The government lost the lawsuit in the US District Court. Mr. Stephenson said the antitrust dispute was "probably not a very good deal" to begin with.
"The teams do not spend any effort to think about the call," he said at a court appearance at
Goldman Sachs
Annual Communication Conference in New York. "We are talking about integration."
Outside of the new media division, he said AT & T's Mexican operations would generate a positive profit before taxes and amortization next year after the end of a network upgrade initiative. The huge AT & T entertainment group, which hosts satellite TV provider DirecTV, is expected to recover from the recent losses and post profits partly due to recent price increases.
AT & T's purchase of Time Warner enabled the telecommunications company to control Warner Bros.'s studios, Turner's television channels and HBO's premium subscription service. He has also left the company close to $ 180 billion in net debt that it is striving to repay.
Stephenson said Wednesday that the wireless service provider continues to expand its new advertising business, including a $ 1.6 billion investment in AppNexus digital technology company. The company also took full control of Otter Media, which started as a joint venture with Chernin Group and focused on "over the top" video.
At the same time, AT & T said capital spending will fall next year after the Mexican wireless network is upgraded and that US broadband systems will follow suit. The expansion of AT & T's fiber optic business will achieve its government-mandated goal in June. Mr. Stephenson said he is satisfied with the broadband business at home.
The CEO also said spending on HBO programming will increase, but far from what other companies are spending on content.
"We are not talking about Netflix investments on HBO itself," he said. "It's really filling the calendar."
Write to Drew FitzGerald at [email protected]
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