The chief executive and chair of HBO , Richard Plepler , is leave the troupe amid changing tides following a late AT&T coup d’etat of HBO ’s parent company , Varietyreported Thursday . His deviation will scar the close of a nearly 30 - yr career with HBO , during which time the admired party pass spearheaded and greenlit several of HBO ’s define projects .
Variety reported that the news was shared with staff through an internal memo in which Plepler write it was “ the right time ” for him to leave the company , adding that it ’s been “ a journey of great pridefulness and accomplishment because so many of you , and many others before us , have made HBO a ethnical and business phenomenon . ” The memo continued :
It has been the heavy joy of my professional life sentence to share this drive with you over these many years . And the great honor of my professional life to be your chief operating officer . I do n’t have the words to give tongue to my gratitude for the living and endowment that made our achiever together potential . But suffice it to say , my love for this position , and for all of you , is deeply a part of me and will last a lifetime .
Plepler ’s achievements during his almost three decades at the company can not be understated . Variety noted his influence in giving the go - ahead to such HBO human dynamo as Game of Thrones and Veep . He also had a hand in the development of HBO Go and HBO Now .
AT&T ’s disputatious merger with what was formerly Time Warner , HBO ’s parent company , was secured last summertime after the Department of Justice failed to prove that thedeal would harm consumers . AsVanity Fairnoted , news of Plepler ’s passing get days after a federal appeals courtyard O.K. AT&T ’s multibillion - dollar bill acquisition . Neither WarnerMedia , as it ’s now called , nor HBO immediately returned requests for comment .
The exit also comes as AT&T is preparing for the launch of its Modern streaming service , which will comeequipped with HBO . An HBO source severalise Vanity Fair that Plepler ’s departure is “ risky news for AT&T , which will own the stigma but not the talent . ” And that could put AT&T in a tough spot as it energize to dispatch with virtually any other streaming inspection and repair launching this twelvemonth — and there aremany , including one fromApple . So , that should be interesting .
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