AT&T is planning to reorganize its company following its pending merger with Time Warner.
The moves include several executive changes as AT&T moves to emphasize the media portion of its businesses, reports Bloomberg.
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson will no longer have CEO in his title and instead will become executive chairman. In his new role, he will oversee CEOs of the company’s telecommunications and entertainment businesses, as the senior most leader of the new company.
{mosads}John Stankey, who is in charge of DirecTV, will become the CEO of the company’s media division, sources told Bloomberg. DirecTV however, will become a part of AT&T’s telecom unit, which will be run by John Donovan.
The company is reportedly still finalizing the details of how it will operate after the merger is completed.
According to the report, AT&T sees the benefits of dividing the company as twofold: It can help ease antitrust regulators’ concerns that the company would favor HBO and Time Warner TV networks on its broadband and cable services, and the separation would allow Time Warner to “preserve its Hollywood culture” and creativity.
AT&T pushed back on the details that Bloomberg reported.
“No decisions on org structure or leadership have been finalized. Randall and Jeff are working through that,” an AT&T spokesperson said via email. “Randall Stephenson will remain chairman and chief executive officer of AT&T after we close the Time Warner deal.”
Stephenson challenged the report later in the day on CNBC, saying that he will not change his title and still be CEO.
The company reportedly expects the merger to be finished by the end of 2017.
There has been some speculation that the Trump administration could intervene in the merger given tensions between the White House and CNN, which is owned by Time Warner.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions said during his confirmation hearing that he would not let political considerations affect his work at the Department of Justice though, including scrutiny of mergers like AT&T’s with Time Warner. The Justice Department is currently reviewing the merger.
– This story was updated at 5:03 p.m.