AT&T Merger Could Threaten Netflix's & Amazon's Competitive Edge
*By Alisha Haridasani*
AT&T's $85 billion takeover of Time Warner will disrupt traditional broadcast and upend internet streaming, fundamentally changing the way consumers watch TV, said Rich Greenfield, an analyst at BTIG.
With content from HBO, CNN, and Warner Bros., AT&T will launch a "skinny bundle" of 30 channels called AT&T Watch that will be free for all AT&T wireless subscribers, Greenfield said.
“That is going to be a really disruptive move by AT&T,” he added. “It’s going to be interesting to see how the other tech companies react to this.”
Streaming services Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon, which create original programming that reaches consumers directly via the internet, have broken the broadcast and cable TV stranglehold on content, putting pressure on subscription and TV advertising revenue.
“Roughly 20 percent of American households have cut the cord, discontinuing traditional MVPD services,” U.S. District Judge Richard Leon wrote in his [opinion](http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/sites/dcd/files/17-2511opinion.pdf) approving the AT&T bid. “That number, high as it is, continues to grow.”
The AT&T-Time Warner merger, which is expected to be completed next week, sets the stage for more vertical integrations between content creators and distributors. Comcast is expected to make another [bid](https://cheddar.com/videos/rich-greenfield-murdoch-no-longer-set-on-selling-to-disney-for-stock) for 21st Century Fox’s assets as early as Wednesday in an effort to wrestle it away from Disney. If Comcast is successful, it would marry Fox’s Hollywood studio and its British broadcaster Sky with Comcast's NBC Universal.
Comcast may partner up with other companies to make that offer more attractive for Fox chairman Rupert Murdoch, said Greenfield.
“In order to really beat Disney, they sort of need a stronger balance sheet,” he said.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/why-at-and-ts-victory-is-monumental).
Business communication platform Slack, recently released its fifth wave of results from its global workplace survey from its Future Forum consortium, showing that the workforce has already moved to a split between working from home and going to the office. “We are now officially in the hybrid era of work,” Slack Future Forum VP Sheela Subramanian said when discussing the findings. "Hybrid is a work model where people can come into the office as well as work remotely, and what we're seeing is that the majority of knowledge workers are now in this arrangement — and that number is set to grow."
Legal cannabis businesses are having a hard time surviving in California with the high cost of doing business and a still-thriving illicit market. In response, nonprofit Supernova Women, founded by women of color, is advocating on behalf of Black and brown shareholders in the cannabis industry. Amber Senter, co-founder, executive director, and chairman of the organization, spoke with Cheddar News about calling for changes in the Golden State's taxation system for legal marijuana. "We're really leaning on the legislators now to support the industry and make sure that this industry, in particular craft cannabis, can survive," said Senter.
After being among the hardest-hit industries by the pandemic, restaurants are still having a hard time staying afloat, with owners claiming that business is worse now due to closures from staff shortages and customer decline than it was three months ago. Mike Whatley, vice president of state affairs and grassroots advocacy for the National Restaurant Association, spoke to Cheddar News about how the sector is reaching out to lawmakers for help. "Working with Senators Wicker, Sinema, and a whole host of bipartisan leaders, we're trying to get the Restaurant Revitalization Fund replenished," Whatley said.
Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, founder of Strategy + Rest,
joins Cheddar News to discuss UK's pilot four-day workweek and its impact on workers' mental health.
Ed Gaussen, co-founder and CEO of Mantra Health, and Matt Kennedy, co-founder and COO of Mantra Health, joined Cheddar News to discuss the digital mental health startup's latest funding round and plans for the future.
Actor and singer Chrissy Metz, who stars as Kate Pearson in "This Is Us," is partnering with Capital One Auto Navigator to share her story of purchasing her first car to help make car buying easier for others. "For me, I know a car was so important because of course it took me to the auditions to get me to the place I have today," she said. "But it also means empowerment and freedom and accessibility, and I think everybody is deserving and in need of that." Metz also discussed the final season of her hit show, noting that expectations for the finale "will probably be exceeded."
Tire manufacturer Michelin is partnering with the popular video game "The Sims FreePlay" in order to meet teens where they are to promote driving safety. Michelin North America Chairman and President Alexis Garcin joined Cheddar News to discuss how the #GoldenGauge program integrates with the game. "If you're a gamer yourself or your kids, then while you're driving and moving on the application, you will find a Michelin billboard, and if you engage with that billboard, then you will get some advice about how tires are critical for your safety on the road," Garcin explained. *Updated with the full title of 'The Sims FreePlay' and a typo fix in the name of Alexis Garcin.*
The video game industry has come a long way from the first commercialized 3D video game in 1980, but it still has a long way to go. Video game creators have recently been called out for not having realistic Black hairstyles in their games and graphic artists are now taking matters into their own hands by creating The Open Source Afro Hair Library. Jovan Wilson, 3D artist and resident for The Open Source Afro Hair Library, joined All Hands to discuss.
