AT&T, HBO Strike Multiplatform Distribution Pact

AT&T and HBO said tonight they have reached a multi-platform agreement to extend HBO content across AT&T platforms and have HBO and Cinemax join the upcoming DirecTV Now over-the-top streaming service, scheduled to launch later this year. Other than it being a multi-year deal, the companies said they wouldn't disclose financial terms of the agreement. HBO and Cinemax content also will be part of AT&T mobile video bundle offers, the companies said, with details on that front to come later. HBO and Cinemax channels' places on DirecTV and AT&T U-verse lineups are renewed in the pact.

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Here are the pertinent release quotes:

Dan York, chief content officer for AT&T: "Our agreement with HBO is groundbreaking in the pay TV and wireless industries as well as the premium category. With this agreement, we have created easy access to subscribe and consume HBO's premium content across all of our platforms. We look forward to growing HBO and Max subscribers. This is a first-of-its-kind deal for both companies and a big win for consumers, building off AT&T's industry leading scale as an HBO distributor for the benefit of our wireless, broadband, and entertainment customer base."

Simon Sutton, president, global distribution, HBO: "We are thrilled to extend and deepen our valued and long-standing relationship with AT&T by announcing this groundbreaking agreement. This deal will deliver the best in TV programming to viewers across AT&T's multi-platform experience. The entertainment landscape has evolved and we are excited to innovate on both AT&T's traditional and new platforms to further provide premium quality, extraordinary value and accessibility to viewers anywhere."

Kent Gibbons

Kent has been a journalist, writer and editor at Multichannel News since 1994 and with Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He is a good point of contact for anything editorial at the publications and for Nexttv.com. Before joining Multichannel News he had been a newspaper reporter with publications including The Washington Times, The Poughkeepsie (N.Y.) Journal and North County News.