AT&T Unveils Post-Merger Reorg Plan

(Satellite Business News) — After weeks of denying reports it had decided on a re-organization structure once it completes its purchase of Time Warner, AT&T announced such a plan late Friday afternoon. The antitrust division of the Department of Justice has not yet approved the proposed the transaction.

But Friday’s announcement would suggest AT&T apparently feels that is just a technicality at this point. Contrary to some consumer media reports, AT&T Chairman Randall Stephenson will remain chief executive of the company, AT&T said.

Under the new structure, AT&T’s DirecTV unit, which it bought two years ago this month, will fall under a newly constituted “communications” group. That organization, AT&T said, will house its video services — DirecTV’s DBS business, the DirecTV Now online service, and the U-verse wireline video service — the cellular phone and mobile business, its high-speed Internet offerings, and its technology and operations departments.

That group will be headed by John Donovan, who is currently AT&T’s chief strategy officer and heads its technology and operations division.

John Stankey, who had been head of the AT&T’s Entertainment Group, and who technically was in charge of DirecTV’s business, was named to “lead [the AT&T] Time Warner Merger integration planning team.” Stankey, AT&T said, will become chief executive of AT&T’s “media company once the [Time Warner deal] is complete.”

As such, Time Warner — which owns national programming channels such as HBO, CNN, TBS, and TNT — and the Warner Bros. Hollywood studio — will be run by Stankey once the Time Warner acquisition is closed.

Stankey’s role in running DirecTv and launching “DirecTv Now” has been the topic of much discussion in satellite TV circles in the past year, and he has made very few public appearances in that position.

Glenn Lurie, president and chief executive of AT&T’s mobile and consumer units, was not mentioned in the company’s announcement. Lurie was most recently positioned as running DirecTv, though it was not clear how much day-to-day involvement with either DirecTV services he — or Stankey — had in recent months.

In its announcement, AT&T said Donovan is responsible “for the corporate strategy function, technology development, network deployment and operations, and AT&T’s transition to a software-defined network.”

Donovan’s biography on AT&T’s website has a long list of his areas of expertise. But Donovan does not appear to have any experience in the subscription television or related businesses. Donovan, AT&T noted, “is driving AT&T’s global leadership position in the technological transition to separate hardware and software and virtualizing network elements to the cloud.

His responsibilities also include oversight of the company’s global information, software development, network technology, and big data strategy; AT&T intellectual property, ‘labs and foundry innovation;’ [information technology], and digital planning, engineering, implementation and operations; network planning, construction and operations including security; field operations, installation and maintenance; global supply chain; and corporate fleet operations.”

AT&T also announced that Global Marketing Officer Lori Lee will also now run AT&T International. That unit is home to the company’s mobile and TV services in Mexico and throughout Latin America. In its statement, AT&T said Lee “was previously lead of AT&T’s Time Warner merger integration planning team.”

Lee, Stankey, and Donovan will continue to report to Stephenson, AT&T said.