Telecom & Media Developments

Dated events

1. Nov. 12, 2019 · Disney launches its Disney+ streaming service at $6.99 a month
   Disney officially launched its Disney+ streaming service at $6.99/month, directly challenging Netflix. This forced investors to rethink how much every entertainment and telecom company was worth, since a price war for subscribers meant lower profits across the industry. Within its first day Disney+ signed up 10 million subscribers, putting intense pressure on rivals to spend more on content.
2. April 1, 2020 · T-Mobile completes its merger with Sprint, leaving three major US carriers
   T-Mobile officially closed its $26 billion merger with Sprint, reducing the major US wireless carriers from four to three. Investors worried that fewer competitors could change pricing power across the entire telecom industry, affecting every phone company's future revenue. In the following weeks, the new combined company began aggressively marketing cheaper plans, pressuring AT&T and Verizon.
3. Feb. 24, 2021 · FCC closes C-band 5G spectrum auction; Verizon wins $45.5 billion of licenses
   The FCC announced the results of its record C-band spectrum auction (Auction 107), which raised about $81 billion for mid-band airwaves critical to building fast 5G networks. Verizon's winning bids alone came to about $45 billion and AT&T's to about $23 billion. The enormous cost raised concerns about how much debt telecom companies were taking on just to stay competitive in the 5G race.
4. May 17, 2021 · AT&T announces WarnerMedia spinoff and Discovery merger
   AT&T said it would spin off its WarnerMedia entertainment division and merge it with Discovery to create a new standalone media company. This shocked people because AT&T had spent $85 billion buying Time Warner just three years earlier, and now was essentially admitting that combining phone service with Hollywood content didn't work. AT&T shares dropped sharply as investors questioned the company's strategy and its ability to pay down massive debt.
5. April 19, 2022 · Netflix reports first subscriber loss in a decade
   Netflix reported it had lost 200,000 subscribers in the first three months of 2022, the first time it shrank in over ten years. This terrified investors across the entire streaming and media industry because it suggested there might be a limit to how many people would pay for streaming services. In the weeks that followed, other media companies like Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount saw their shares fall too, as people feared the whole streaming business model was in trouble.

Assets named in this scenario · 22

Alphabet Inc. (Class A)AT&TCharter CommunicationsComcastDeutsche TelekomKDDIKPNMeta PlatformsNetflixNTTOrangePublicis GroupeSPDR S&P 500 ETF TrustSwisscomTelecom ItaliaTelefónicaT-Mobile USVerizonVivendiVodafoneWalt Disney Company (The)Warner Bros. Discovery

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