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Time Warner was acquired by AOL (Jan 2001) and acquired by AT&T Inc. (Jun 2018) (see deal), then rebranded to WarnerMedia (Jun 2018), then rebranded to Warner Bros. Discovery (Jan 2022)— see Warner Bros. Discovery for current status.
Brief
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Time Warner

Time Warner offered advertisers unparalleled access to premium, brand-safe content environments and massive audiences across cable, digital, and film properties, enhanced by proprietary first-party audience data.

New York, New York, United StatesFounded 1990Parent: AT&T (acquired June 2018; subsequently rebranded as WarnerMedia)

Last updated May 31, 2026 by ATDb automated enrichment · Connections updated Jun 1, 2026

Industry
Media, Entertainment & Advertising
Business Model
Media Conglomerate / Advertising
Target Market
Enterprise
Employee Count
10001+
Revenue Range
$29B+ (2017 annual revenue)
Stock Symbol
TWX
Parent Company
AT&T (acquired June 2018; subsequently rebranded as WarnerMedia)
API Available
Limited
Market Position

Former top-tier global media conglomerate and premium advertising inventory owner before being acquired and rebranded as WarnerMedia by AT&T in 2018.

Overview

Time Warner Inc. was one of the world's largest media and entertainment conglomerates, headquartered in New York City. The company operated a vast portfolio of iconic brands spanning television networks, film studios, and news organizations, including HBO, CNN, Warner Bros., TNT, TBS, and Turner Broadcasting. Its scale and reach made it a central player in the broader media ecosystem, with significant implications for advertising, content distribution, and audience targeting across linear and digital platforms. In the AdTech and advertising ecosystem, Time Warner was a major premium content owner and advertising inventory supplier, offering advertisers access to massive, highly engaged audiences across its cable networks and digital properties. The company invested in data-driven advertising capabilities, including its Turner Ignite platform, which leveraged first-party audience data from its networks to enable more precise ad targeting. This positioned Time Warner as a forward-thinking media company at the intersection of traditional television advertising and emerging programmatic and data-driven ad technologies. On June 14, 2018, AT&T completed its $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner, one of the largest media deals in history. Following the acquisition, AT&T rebranded the entity as WarnerMedia, retiring the Time Warner name entirely. The rationale was to combine AT&T's distribution infrastructure and subscriber data with Time Warner's premium content assets to create a vertically integrated media and telecom powerhouse. The Time Warner brand was formally retired, with WarnerMedia subsequently being spun off and merged with Discovery, Inc. to form Warner Bros. Discovery in 2022.

Products & Features

Turner Ignite

Data-driven advertising platform leveraging Turner's first-party audience data for targeted advertising across TV and digital properties.

HBO

Premium subscription cable and streaming network offering original programming and advertising-free content.

CNN Digital

Digital news platform offering advertising inventory across web, mobile, and video formats.

Turner Ad Sales

Centralized advertising sales operation spanning TBS, TNT, CNN, Cartoon Network, and other Turner networks.

Warner Bros. Theatrical & TV

Major film and television studio producing content that drove advertising and licensing revenue globally.

Key Features
Premium brand-safe advertising inventory across cable and digitalFirst-party audience data from Turner networksCross-platform advertising capabilities spanning TV, digital, and mobileAdvanced audience targeting via Turner IgniteMassive reach across news, entertainment, and sports content verticals
Use Cases
Brand advertising on premium cable TV networksTargeted audience-based advertising using Turner Ignite dataDigital video advertising across CNN and Turner digital propertiesSponsorship and content integration within original programmingCross-platform campaign execution spanning linear and digital
Customer Segments
National brand advertisersMedia agencies and holding companiesDirect response advertisersPolitical advertisersEntertainment and studio advertisers
Corporate history
See integrations with Time Warner (6) See acquisitions by Time Warner (2)

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