AT&T seeks to innovate for a mobile-centric environment with Time Warner merger

In October, AT&T announced it would buy Time Warner for $85 billion. A few months later, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson discussed the merger at Business Insider's IGNITION conference.

According to Stephenson, AT&T saw 40 million streams on mobile devices in October, up 40% from the previous month. The company realized the dire need to "begin to innovate the content for a mobile-centric environment," Stephenson said.

While some companies were leaning toward shorter content, AT&T took a different approach.

"We are adamant believers that premium, long-form content is going to have legs for a long time, not only on the TV but especially in a world of mobility," Stephenson said, adding that the company saw users streaming long-form content from their mobile devices.

Merging with Time Warner would allow AT&T to provide access to "the best content library on the planet," with assets such as HBO, Turner, and Warner Brothers. Better yet, users could access this entire library at any time, from any device, once they pay the subscription fee.

The merger has been met with a bit of backlash from President Donald Trump, as well as Republicans and Democrats. The Justice Department is deliberating the merger.

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