FT reports that AT&T has considered selling HBO Europe

Reports in the Financial Times suggest that telco AT&T has had internal discussions about selling Central European broadcasting and content studio HBO Europe in a bid to reduce its huge $170bn debt.

The HBO global brand became part of AT&T after the group completed its $85bn acquisition of Time Warner last year.

The decision to sell off part of HBO seems like a strange one given the heavy investment that Time Warner has made in the brand in recent years, positioning it as a putative rival to streaming service Netflix. However an obvious candidate to buy the business would be Comcast-owned Sky – given the close relationship between Sky and HBO though content distribution and co-production.

Citing current and former executives, the FT said HBO Europe is one of several assets AT&T has considered selling – though it has not yet held formal talks with potential buyers.