AT&T takes Otter ownership

US telecoms giant AT&T has become full owner of Otter Media after acquiring The Chernin Group’s controlling stake in the digital branding and content outfit.

Tony Goncalves

Otter Media, which was set up as a joint venture between AT&T and The Chernin Group, will now be folded into WarnerMedia – the company created following AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner earlier this summer.

The move will see Otter Media’s assets – including subscription video service provider Ellation, digital media company Fullscreen, shortform and animation label Rooster Teeth, content studio Gunpowder & Sky and Reese Witherspoon’s prodco Hello Sunshine – sit alongside WarnerMedia labels Warner Bros, HBO and Turner.

AT&T and The Chernin Group founded Otter Media in 2014 to invest in and develop platforms and properties to complement the growth in direct-to-consumer subscription, as well as the rise of new digital media brands.

Tony Goncalves, who was appointed CEO of Otter earlier this year, will continue to run the company, reporting to WarnerMedia chief John Stankey.

Peter Chernin, CEO of The Chernin Group, said: “With AT&T’s direct-to-consumer relationships, vast data and varied content, I believe they can accelerate Otter’s growth. The combination with WarnerMedia will create a new-era media company, serving customers with every type of content delivered through every possible distribution channel.”

Writing for C21 in July, Mary Ann Halford, senior advisor to OC&C Strategy Consultants, said AT&T’s “shopping spree” was unlikely to be over following the acquisition of Time Warner. The company added AppNexus, one of the world’s largest advertising exchanges, for US$1.6bn before it moved for Otter.

Previously, Halford predicted that AT&T’s Time Warner purchase would spark a “blockbuster summer” of media mergers.