Three years ago, AT&T Inc. executives were in a federal courthouse fighting the Justice Department to defend their takeover of Time Warner Inc., a more than $80 billion foray into the entertainment business.
AT&T won the court battle, but lost in the marketplace. Now, at the behest of Chief Executive John Stankey, the telecom giant is giving up its dreams of marrying media content and distribution—one of the biggest about-faces in corporate deal history.