Warner-Discovery deal may challenge incumbent streaming brands

NEW DELHI: In a deal that could reshape the Indian over-the-top (OTT) video streaming market, international media companies AT&T Inc. and Discovery, Inc. have announced a definitive agreement to combine WarnerMedia’s entertainment, sports and news assets with Discovery’s non-fiction and international entertainment and sports businesses to create a standalone global entertainment company.

A statement from both companies released Monday night said the transaction will create substantial value for AT&T and Discovery shareholders by “accelerating both companies’” plans for leading direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming services for global consumers.” With limited details available on how the deal would pan out for specific geographies like India, media experts said the combined entity could be a powerful competitor in the Indian web streaming segment, challenging the might of incumbents like Netflix,