Richard Plepler is about to step down as President, CEO of HBO – Variety



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HBO President and CEO Richard Plepler leaves the company.

Plepler made the announcement to the staff in a memo on Thursday. "It's hard to think about leaving the society I love, and the people I love are the right time to do it," he wrote. "In the last few weeks, I've been thinking a lot about this company's incredible journey over the 28 years I've been lucky to be here. It's a journey of great pride and accomplishment because many of you, and many others before us, have made HBO a cultural and commercial phenomenon. "

The announcement of Plepler's release comes after the announcement that former NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt was in talks with WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey for a position in which Greenblatt would oversee HBO, Turner and the service. direct to consumers of WarnerMedia.

A senior source at WarnerMedia said Variety Plepler and Turner President David Levy became agitated as WarnerMedia continued to consider changes that could include the combination of HBO and Turner, in which a significant number of redundant jobs would be removed.

Plepler joined HBO for the first time in 1992. He was co-chair from 2007 to 2012 before being named retired CEO of Bill Nelson. During his time with the company, he broadcasted hit shows such as "Game of Thrones", "Veep", "True Blood" and "The Newsroom". He also oversaw the launch of both HBO Go and HBO Now streaming platforms. his time at the helm.

As Variety As previously reported, Turner employees have begun to prepare for major changes after AT & T's latest $ 85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner was completed. has been set. The first signs of major changes on the horizon came in December, when Kevin Reilly, director of TBS & TNT, was appointed to oversee the content of WarnerMedia's streaming service.

Read the full Plepler note below.

My dad always gave the best advice. Whenever there was a difficult decision to make, he warned that since no one could ever have perfect visibility into the future, the best thing to do was to trust your instinct. It has been a touchstone for me throughout my life, and I found myself coming back to it recently, as I pondered what is an inflection point in the life of this wonderful company. Hard to think about leaving the company that I love and the people I love, that 's the right time to do it.

Over the past few weeks, I've been thinking a lot about this company's incredible journey over the past 28 years, where I've been lucky enough to be here. It is a journey of great pride and accomplishment because many of you, and many others before us, have made HBO a cultural and commercial phenomenon. Thanks to you all, we are today on the verge of becoming creative and professional. 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. As I have already said, it is the teams team.

It was the great joy of my professional life to share this race with you over these many years. And the great honor of my professional life being your CEO. I do not have the words to express my gratitude for the support and talent that made our success possible. But suffice it to say that my love for this place and for you all is deeply part of me and will last a lifetime. In the coming weeks, I look forward to thanking most of you for the thousands of contributions, big or small, that made us our "thing", to quote Tony Soprano, so special. I've told John, who has nothing as kind as we since our conversation, that I would work closely with him to ensure a smooth and organic transition.

We have created a great and unique company and I know you will protect its legacy and do everything in its power to improve its future in the years to come.

Know that I will always be excited even when I'm outside this building because HBO continues to thrive.

With respect, admiration and gratitude,
Richard

The departure of Plepler marks the last major exit of leaders in the world of high-end cables, following the recent departure of Chris Albrecht, CEO of Starz, and the dismissal of CBS CEO, Leslie Moonves, whose direct reports include Showtime.

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