Shares in the entertainment giant climbed more than 9 percent in premarket trading on Monday following the ouster of chief executive officer Bob Chapek.
At Time Warner, executives saw AT&T as just a “big phone company from Texas.” At AT&T, they thought Hollywood would play by their rules. That combination led to strategic miscalculation unrivaled in recent corporate history.
Seen as the future of CNN, the streaming channel was suddenly killed. Its soon-to-be owner, Discovery, had concerns but until the deal closed, it was constrained in guiding a competitor.