By Deepa Seetharaman 

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. -- In the wake of AT&T Inc.'s $85.4 billion deal last week to buy Time Warner Inc., HBO Chief Executive Richard Plepler says he remains "agnostic" about where the content of one of Time Warner's crown jewels appears.

He pointed to a deal HBO reached with AT&T late this summer for the phone carrier to broadcast HBO on TV and mobile. Mr. Plepler described it as "a bit of a template for what you're going to see going forward." That affiliate deal, he said, is structured to incentivize subscriber growth, not exclusivity.

"I'm running a business based on brand," said Mr. Plepler, speaking on a panel at the WSJDLive conference with Vice Media Chief Executive Shane Smith. "We'll take the time to build the audience."

Mr. Plepler's HBO is among the premium assets of Time Warner's extensive cache of media content, which also includes cable networks CNN, TBS and TNT as well as the Warner Bros. film and TV studio.

AT&T's cash-and-stock acquisition of Time Warner will blend those properties with AT&T's millions of pay-TV and wireless customers, forming a conglomerate that both produces content and distributes it. That content includes a joint daily newscast cocreated by HBO and Vice and a branded Vice channel on HBO's streaming service, HBO Now.

The daily news show is part of the duo's bid to tap the market for millennial audiences and find what Mr. Plepler called "new, addicted subscribers." Mr. Smith said the show strives to strike a nonpartisan tone. "Everyone is trying to label you, everyone is trying to paint you with a brush," Mr. Smith said. "It's just a war to keep you in the center."

Mr. Smith said the majority of Vice's growth now comes through "licensing money" as opposed to advertising. Forfeiting ads is important for keeping the attention of young viewers and gives Vice "a free wheel to go after anybody," he said.

Write to Deepa Seetharaman at Deepa.Seetharaman@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 25, 2016 12:51 ET (16:51 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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