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Brief
Time Warner was acquired by AOL (Jan 2001) and acquired by AT&T Inc. (Jun 2018) (see deal), then rebranded to WarnerMedia (Jun 2018), then rebranded to Warner Bros. Discovery (Jan 2022), then acquired by Paramount Skydance (Oct 2026) (see deal)

Time Warner

Media & EntertainmentRecently acquired by Paramount Skydance · closed Oct 6, 2026

Time Warner, which eventually became Warner Bros. Discovery, was a media empire whose holdings included Turner (owner of CNN, TNT, TBS, and other cable channels), HBO, and the Warner Bros. studio.

Last updated Oct 5, 2026 by the ATDb Editorial Team

Founded
1990
HQ
New York, New York, United States
Connections
20

AI-drafted from public sources7 sources cited

At a glance

Employees
10001+
Revenue
$29B+ (2017, pre-acquisition)
Stock
TWX
12integrations1competitors1corporate family2acquisitions
Data Management PlatformMarketing Technology

About

Formerly one of the world's largest media conglomerates, commanding premium advertising inventory and global content distribution before its brand was retired following AT&T's 2018 acquisition.

Time Warner, which eventually became Warner Bros. Discovery, was a media empire whose holdings included Turner (owner of CNN, TNT, TBS, and other cable channels), HBO, and the Warner Bros. studio. Within the advertising industry, Turner was one of the leaders in selling its programming programmatically, through automated ad tech. HBO operated on a subscription model and was a leading network in the over-the-top space through its online-only service HBO Go, while CNN maintained one of the largest digital news presences. Time Warner was primarily video-based media, rooted in traditional TV and film, and notably lacked the ad tech capabilities that properties like AOL and Yahoo offered Verizon. Source 1: digiday.com — Media buyers hope AT&T brings 'quality' to advertising with ... Source 2: cnbc.com — How AT&T's Time Warner deal strengthens its position in ...

Business model

Media Conglomerate

Target market

Enterprise

What they offer

  • HBO

    Premium cable and streaming network known for prestige original programming, a major driver of subscription and licensing revenue.

  • CNN

    Global cable news network with broad advertising and distribution reach across television and digital platforms.

  • Warner Bros.

    Major Hollywood film and television studio producing and distributing content globally.

  • Turner Networks (TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network)

    Portfolio of cable entertainment networks generating significant advertising revenue through broad audience reach.

  • Time Inc.

    Magazine publishing division (spun off in 2014) encompassing iconic titles such as Time, People, and Sports Illustrated.

Key features

Premium cable and streaming content ownershipMajor film and television studio productionGlobal news distribution via CNNLarge-scale advertising inventory across cable networksSubscription-based premium content via HBO

Use cases

National and global television advertising campaignsPremium content licensing and syndicationSubscription entertainment for consumersNews and information distributionFilm and television production and distribution

Customer segments

National advertisers and media buyersCable and satellite distributorsStreaming subscribersInternational content licenseesTheatrical and home entertainment consumers

Tech & specs

Technology stack

Linear broadcast and cable distribution infrastructureDigital streaming platforms (HBO Go / HBO Now)Ad sales and trafficking systems (Turner Ad Sales)Data analytics and audience measurement tools

Security & compliance

FCC regulatory complianceCOPPAGDPR (international operations)

Deployment

Linear broadcastCable/satellite distributionDigital/streaming

API

No

Corporate history
  1. 1990 · Founded
  2. 2001Acquired by AOL
  3. 2018Acquired by AT&T Inc.$85.4B
  4. 2018Became WarnerMedia
  5. 2022Became Warner Bros. Discovery
  6. 2026Acquired by Paramount Skydance
    Still operating as part of Paramount Skydance
  7. Year unknown
Connection details
See integrations with Time Warner (12)

Explore further

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