How AT&T could use Time Warner shows and movies to compete with Disney and Netflix

Imagine if, ahead of HBO’s next “Westworld” premiere, AT&T sent a 5-minute video recap to millions of users it knows watch science fiction. The mobile giant could target young women with the latest trailer of Warner Bros.’s upcoming romantic comedy “Crazy Rich Asians.” Or analyze users’ interests to create customized CNN news clips for customers to watch on their lunch breaks. That’s just a sample of the ways AT&T could push the $85-billion Time Warner acquisition to its more than 100 million wireless subscribers and 25 million pay-TV customers. As it faces a saturated wireless market and declining satellite subscriptions from its DirecTV unit, AT&T hopes to entice mobile customers by streaming WarnerMedia content to people’s mobile devices, including smartphones. The goal is to take advantage of AT&T’s direct connections with millions of Americans and the user data previously unavailable to entertainment companies.