AT&T took full ownership of Otter Media after acquiring the controlling interest from the Chernin Group, the companies announced Tuesday.
The deal will see Otter Media’s portfolio — which includes Crunchyroll, Fullscreen, Rooster Teeth and Reese Witherspoon‘s Hello Sunshine — absorbed into WarnerMedia, newly rebranded following AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner earlier this summer.
The move had been expected after the merger was finalized, particularly when Otter named AT&T executive Tony Goncalves as CEO in February. He will remain in charge of the company under AT&T’s ownership, reporting to WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey.
“We are thrilled to incorporate the Otter Media brands and talent into WarnerMedia,” said Stankey in a statement. “Working with Tony, we look to harness Otter’s expertise in feeding the passion of online audiences to augment our portfolio of digital assets and help us further engage, connect and entertain consumers around the globe.”
Otter Media was formed in 2014 as a joint venture between AT&T and Chernin Group, with an investment of roughly $500 million. The company’s digital properties now reach more than 93 million unique monthly viewers, AT&T said, and is on track to hit over 75 billion video views this year.
Peter Chernin, the group’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement that AT&T “can accelerate Otter’s growth. The combination with WarnerMedia will create a new-era media company, serving customers with every type of content delivered through every possible distribution channel.”
The companies did not disclose the terms of the deal.
