{"id":9374,"date":"2016-10-22T17:39:00","date_gmt":"2016-10-23T01:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/timeline-atts-merger-with-time-warner-follows-decades-of-industry-deals\/"},"modified":"2016-10-22T17:39:00","modified_gmt":"2016-10-23T01:39:00","slug":"timeline-atts-merger-with-time-warner-follows-decades-of-industry-deals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/timeline-atts-merger-with-time-warner-follows-decades-of-industry-deals\/","title":{"rendered":"TIMELINE: AT&T's Merger With Time Warner Follows Decades Of Industry Deals"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Alina Selyukh<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

AT&T’s $85.4-billion bid to buy Time Warner is now official, facing what’s expected to be a tough regulatory review<\/a>, given the reach and impact of the telecom and the media behemoths.<\/p>\n

The deal is a large one for both spaces, though each has seen a fair amount of reshuffling in the power rankings over the years. (In fact, both AT&T and Time Warner are themselves results of consolidation and spin-offs.)<\/p>\n

The latest in this year’s leadup was Verizon’s bid to buy Yahoo to combine its Internet assets with the telco’s earlier purchase of AOL. It’s a race to reach as many users \u2014 and advertisers \u2014 with as much content as possible.<\/p>\n

Below is a condensed history.<\/p>\n

1877<\/h3>\n

AT&T’s ancestor is born<\/a> as Bell Telephone Company. Note quite a decade later, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company was formed as a subsidiary to create a long-distance network.<\/p>\n

1923<\/h3>\n

Time<\/em> magazine debuts on March 3<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Four Warner brothers establish<\/a> Warner Brothers Pictures, which in 1969 becomes a subsidiary of Warner Communications, created<\/a> when Kinney National Services buys what by then is Warner Brothers-Seven Arts Inc.<\/p>\n

1984<\/h3>\n

The monopoly Bell System, aka Ma Bell, splits up<\/a> into eight companies, dubbed Baby Bells, after the Justice Department pursues an antitrust case. Decades later, parts of those companies were eventually subsumed by modern-day AT&T, Verizon and CenturyLink.<\/p>\n

1989<\/h3>\n
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