AT&T stated Wednesday it had taken a $15.five billion writedown on its ailing DirectTV enterprise, overshadowing expansion in its HBO Max streaming and main wireless expert services.

The disclosure of the writedown came as AT&T reported that it dropped a further 617,000 quality Tv subscribers in the fourth quarter, highlighting the continuing plight of DirectTV amid the shift absent from classic spend Tv to streaming.

AT&T now has sixteen.five million quality Tv prospects, down from extra than 25 million in early 2017.

The business attributed the writedown to “competition, lower gross adds from the ongoing target on incorporating higher price prospects, and a programming dispute, partly offset by lower churn.” But Reuters stated it reflected “the impact of several years of wire-cutting in the marketplace as viewers go to less expensive on-line streaming expert services.”

The writedown helped push AT&T into a fourth-quarter web reduction of $thirteen.88 billion, or $1.95 for every share. Total working income was $45.69 billion, beating analysts’ estimates of $forty four.56 billion.

“We finished the year with potent momentum in our sector target places of broadband connectivity and software-based entertainment,” CEO John Stankey stated in a news release. “By investing in our significant-excellent wireless buyer base, we had our most effective total-year of postpaid cellular phone web adds in a decade and our 2nd least expensive postpaid cellular phone churn at any time.”

Through the fourth quarter, AT&T additional 800,000 web new cellular phone subscribers who spend a monthly bill, beating analyst anticipations of 475,300 adds. HBO Max finished 2020 with 17 million activated accounts but income from the WarnerMedia division fell 9.five{312eb768b2a7ccb699e02fa64aff7eccd2b9f51f6a579147b7ed58dbcded82a2} as the display-enterprise aspect ongoing to wrestle with very low box-workplace income and weak promoting income.

“Our greatest and solitary-most significant bet is HBO Max,” Stankey informed analysts on an on earnings connect with. Executives plan to grow the service’s footprint in other nations this year and start an promoting-supported variation in the 2nd quarter.

According to The Wall Road Journal, AT&T has been making an attempt to unload DirecTV, keeping discussions with suitors which includes non-public-fairness firm TPG. A offer “could let AT&T to deconsolidate DirecTV’s worsening monetary final results whilst retaining a stake in the Tv business,” the Journal stated.

AT&T, DirecTV, earnings, HBO Max, John Stankey, streaming, wireless