HBO boss leaves office as AT & T owner seeks more emissions and more profits

HBO President Richard Plepler announced his resignation yesterday, less than a year after the completion of the HBO acquisition by AT & T and the rest of Time Warner Inc.

In a memo available in this journal Hollywood Reporter Plepler told his employees that he had made the "difficult decision" to go to "a decisive moment in the life of this wonderful company".

Mr. Plepler has worked for HBO for nearly 28 years. He has been Chairman of the Board since 2013 and Co-Chair from 2007 to 2013. He has given a positive tone to his memo. "Thanks to you all, we are in the elevator today, both creative and professional," he wrote. "Thanks to all of you, I can move on to the next chapter of my life knowing that the best team in the industry is here to continue our progress and success."

But "Plepler discovered that he had less autonomy after the merger, according to two people familiar with his thinking," The New York Times reported.

Other reports cited the same problem. As CNBC wrote:

According to people familiar with the subject, it is a question of autonomy. Plepler wanted to lead HBO, and the new WarnerMedia CEO, John Stankey, a veteran of AT & T, actually ran HBO. Plepler had ideas about technology and international expansion that did not fit Stankey's vision, according to a person familiar with the subject. Both are also "different people" and did not have the closest relationship, said another person. So, after six years of self-running HBO, Plepler told Stankey earlier this month that he wanted to leave, said two people.

Turner's president, David Levy, is also leaving the company. He announced his decision in an internal memo that he was "ready for professional change," CNN reported.

AT & T wants big changes

HBO has been successful for decades producing a limited number of high quality broadcasts. Shortly after the takeover of Time Warner by AT & T in June 2018, the new owner told HBO employees at a public meeting that the network was not reporting enough. HBO needed more content to keep viewers' attention for hours each day and to get "more data and information" about customers, Stankey told HBO employees at the meeting. . Stankey warned employees that they would face a "tough year" and that they should do "a lot of work to change and change the direction a bit".

The changes sought by AT & T seem to aim to make HBO a bit more similar to Netflix, the largest provider of streaming video.

"Plepler and [HBO] The president of the animation, Casey Bloys, had rejected the suggestions that HBO should increase the content of its content, modest compared to Netflix, but all that changed when [AT&T division] WarnerMedia was formed, "the Hollywood Reporter article says. "The network is now looking to develop its original offerings in order to remain competitive with Netflix, Amazon and many other competitors in the streaming industry."

AT & T CEO Randall Stephenson spoke about HBO's parent company, WarnerMedia, and its "creative imagination," said The Wall Street Journal Last year, "you have to preserve this culture with your life". But Stephenson also said that "the business model must change" and that it would be a "very difficult migration," he added. Newspaper wrote.

Plepler's departure took place a few days after a federal court of appeal upheld the acquisition of Time Warner by AT & T, laying a blow to the Justice Department's attempt to Reverse the merger.