AT&T's merger will change how we watch TV

AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner will create a media conglomerate that combines premium content with a vast distribution network to deliver it to consumers. One of its first experiments in marrying the two will be a "skinny bundle" called AT&T Watch, providing Time Warner content (minus sports) to mobile customers. This is a glimpse at the future of media — packages of content curated and disseminated by the same companies that provide the broadband service you need to watch it in the first place. AT&T wants to replicate what Google, Facebook, Netflix and Amazon already do quite well — generating engagement on their platforms, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said. "Premium video is what drives engagement on their platforms," he said. "The more distribution points and customers we enable to consume premium content, the more we want to own and invest in premium content itself." The revocation of network neutrality rules may shift the universe of content that viewers are exposed to, determined by what types of content your ISP decides to provide, and what content is tailored to you by algorithms.