- This week's ramp-up in the move toward media content/distribution juggernauts (via AT&T's closed deal for Time Warner) isn't yet tempting a titan of the cable industry: John Malone.
- Though he owns sizable stakes in Charter (CHTR -0.2%) and Discovery (DISCA +3.5%), and despite his reputation as a dealmaking guru, Malone isn't rushing to put them together to keep up with AT&T (NYSE:T) and Comcast (CMCSA +0.4%).
- “Why would I put Discovery together with Charter? Apples and oranges,” Malone tells Shalini Ramachandran. “If you are just forming a conglomerate by putting everything in the same bucket, it eliminates your flexibility, you’ve got tax problems, regulatory problems and a lot of problems that these companies operating autonomously don’t have.”
- Charter may pursue smaller content opportunities, like regional sports nets or regional news, or teaming up with distributors in a joint venture to own content.
- While he believes both Comcast and AT&T face a challenge pulling financial benefits out of their deals, he says AT&T may have an easier time with its national footprint (vs. the more regional footprints of Comcast and Charter).
- Malone has seen regional benefits from a pursuit of Univision (UVN), which has spurned his advances, and he says other smaller content companies are ripe for plucking: Viacom (VIA +1.6%, VIAB +1.6%), CBS (CBS +1.7%), AMC Networks (AMCX +0.4%) and Lions Gate (LGF.A +3.8%, LGF.B +2.4%).
- Now read: Don't Be Fooled: Why AT&T Is Still A Strong Buy (Nicholas Ward)
Original article