AT&T, Chernin commit $500m to OTT
April 22, 2014
AT&T has formed a $500 million joint venture with Chernin Group to acquire, invest in and launch a video streaming service. The Chernin Group will bring assets to the venture, including the contribution of its majority stake in Crunchyroll, a subscription VoD service.
Chernin, the vehicle of former top News Corp man Peter Chernin, says: “A critical part of The Chernin Group’s strategy has been our significant focus on the online video industry, and joining forces with AT&T only further underscores our strategic commitment in this area as operators, investors and programmers. Consumers are increasingly viewing video content on their phones, tablets, computers, game consoles and connected TVs on mobile and broadband networks. AT&T’s massive reach on those platforms across mobile and broadband and their commitment to the online video space make them the perfect fit for this venture with us.”
Late last year AT&T rival Verizon bought Intel’s fledgling online TV service OnCue. They join Netflix, Amazon Prime and others in a crowded market.