Leaked pitch deck shows how WarnerMedia plans to become the dominant media company by spending on HBO Max and ad tech division Xandr

• WarnerMedia executives presented a deck to advertisers that shows how parent company AT&T plans to try to become the biggest media company.
• The company said it planned a big increase in marketing and programming to promote its forthcoming streaming service HBO Max.
• AT&T plans to use the combination of its entertainment brands and ad platform Xandr to become the biggest name in media while selling more services to AT&T subscribers, the deck shows.
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AT&T has made no secret of its desire to lead the increasingly fractured media landscape through its newly acquired WarnerMedia entertainment properties and ad tech division Xandr.

Business Insider obtained a strategy deck that WarnerMedia execs presented to ad agencies in August. It reveals how much the strategy will focus on streaming service HBO Max, which the conglomerate plans to promote with a huge increase in original programming and marketing.

Spokespeople for AT&T and WarnerMedia did not respond to requests for comment.

WarnerMedia plans to increase spending on HBO Max

According to the deck, WarnerMedia Chairman Bob Greenblatt sees HBO Max as the feather in AT&T's cap.

HBO Max is set to go live in May as the most expensive streaming service at $15 per month. Analysts think HBO Max will need to scale faster than predecessor HBO Now to even break even - a high hurdle to clear given competition from Netflix, Disney+, and other new streaming services.

The deck links to a July Variety profile of WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey where he pledges to spend about $500 million more on HBO programming this year for a total of approximately $2.5 billion.

It also states that the company will increase the program hours across all properties and the number of movies made by its studios by 50% in 2020.

AT&T plans to use content to grow cable and wireless subscriptions while expanding its ad platform

An ad agency exec who saw the pitch in a meeting with WarnerMedia executives and spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to discuss the matter publicly said the company's biggest focus was on heavily promoting HBO Max.

The deck also touts Bleacher Report, Boomerang, and Otter Media. The agency source said WarnerMedia executives also talked about integrating advertisers into CNN's live coverage of the upcoming presidential election.

AT&T's ultimate goal, according to Stankey and the deck, is to use the combination of its entertainment brands and ad platform Xandr to become the biggest name in media while selling more services to AT&T subscribers.

The deck also refers to the recent merger of programmatic platform AppNexus into Xandr and says it will "enhance premium video advertising, with greater relevance to consumers, [and] also give marketers key insights into their most valued audiences."

"The more customers engage with premium content the more access they will need to high-speed connectivity," the deck notes read.

AT&T Mobility, which provides wireless services to more than 160 million subscribers, is by far the company's most profitable division. By comparison, Xandr brought in only around 1% of AT&T's total revenues for 2018, according to earnings reports.

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