(L-R) TNT, TBS, truTV, HBO & HBO Max Comfortable Acquisition EVP Michael Quigley, HBO Max CCO and TNT, TBS, & truTV President Kevin Reilly and HBO Max Head of Original Content Sarah Aubrey act onstage during the HBO Max executive session segment of the 2020 Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour at The Langham Huntington, Pasadena on January 15, 2020 in Pasadena, California.
Emma McIntyre
AT&T state on Thursday it lost monthly phone subscribers and suffered a $2 billion revenue decline from delayed silent picture releases and advertising shortfalls in the second quarter as the Covid-19 pandemic ravaged its business.
The media and telecommunications company, which launched series service HBO Max in May, reported 36 million subscribers for both “HBO Max/HBO.” In the first quarter, HBO had about 33 million customers.
AT&T wrecked 151,000 postpaid mobile phone subscribers in the quarter, including about 338,000 customers who stopped paying but were kept on the network.
Analysts had required the company to add 6,800 subscribers, according to research firm FactSet.
AT&T’s WarnerMedia segment has been reeling under origination delays and had to postpone the release of Christoper Nolan’s highly-anticipated “Tenet” thrice as theater chains remained largely ban. Revenue in the unit fell 22.7% to $6.8 billion.
The company said it expects a dividend payout ratio at the end of 2020 to be in the 60%s classify and is aiming for the lower end of that range.
Total quarterly revenue fell nearly 9% to $41 billion. Analysts on general had expected $41.10 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.