WarnerMedia could acquire J.J. Abrams content for $500 million
The upcoming WarnerMedia streaming service might be packed with content from Bad Robot.
- I've been covering technology and mobile for 12 years, first as a telecommunications reporter and assistant editor at ZDNet in Australia, then as CNET's West Coast head of breaking news, and now in the Thought Leadership team.
Bad Robot content could be coming to WarnerMedia.
WarnerMedia has reportedly beat out Apple , NBCUniversal and other media companies to secure streaming content from J.J. Abrams. The deal is worth around $500 million, a report says.
Abrams runs media company Bad Robot with his wife, Katie McGrath. Bad Robot is responsible for shows and movies including Westworld, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Lost, Fringe, Mission: Impossible Fallout, Star Trek, Cloverfield and Alias.
The deal entered final negotiations Monday, The New York Times reported, citing two sources involved. It said the deal will cover TV shows, movies, music, digital content, consumer products and even video games .
The reported WarnerMedia deal comes despite J.J. Abrams in April signing on with Apple TV Plus to produce a third show for the service, Stephen King's Lisey's Store.
According to the Times, Bad Robot content was last sold off in a deal to Paramount back in 2006 for between $55 million and $65 million.
AT&T's WarnerMedia service will reportedly be available in beta later this year, and could be available fully by March 2020.
Last week, it was reported that AT&T could be dropping its plans for a three-tiered streaming service in favor of combining its Warner Bros., Cinemax and HBO content into one offering of around $16 or $17 a month.
John Stankey, an AT&T executive heading up WarnerMedia, said last year that the streaming service would cost more than HBO Now's $15-a-month subscription.
WarnerMedia didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
