AT&T Appoints Channing Dungey to Lead Warner Bros. Television Group
October 19 2020 - 12:29PM
Dow Jones News
By Joe Flint
Channing Dungey, a former senior Walt Disney Co. and Netflix
Inc. creative executive, has been selected to be the new chairman
of AT&T Inc.'s Warner Bros. Television Group, the company said
Monday.
Ms. Dungey will take the helm early next year. She succeeds
Peter Roth, who said last week he would step down in 2021 after
more than two decades running the television production studio.
As head of Warner Bros. Television, Ms. Dungey will inherit one
of the most prolific and profitable producers of prime-time
programming. Under Mr. Roth, Warner Bros. Television typically was
the biggest supplier of content in the television industry.
Besides selling shows to the broadcast and cable networks,
Warner Bros. makes content for the streaming services including the
Netflix show "The Kominsky Method" and Apple TV+'s new comedy "Ted
Lasso."
Ms. Dungey joins the studio in a time of transition. For decades
the studio operated with considerable autonomy in terms of the
shows it made and sold. Even though it was part of a company that
includes HBO, cable networks TNT and TBS and co-owned the CW
Network, Warner Bros. Television typically did more business with
nonaffiliated platforms.
Since AT&T acquired Time Warner and redubbed it WarnerMedia,
it has made servicing its own platforms -- especially the new
direct-to-consumer offering HBO Max -- a bigger priority. HBO, long
its own fief, now reports into the newly created WarnerMedia Studio
and Networks Group. as do the general entertainment cable
channels.
Consolidation of the content and production operations has
resulted in significant reductions in staff, and another round of
layoffs is expected next month, people familiar with the matter
said.
WarnerMedia executives insist Warner Bros. Television can
maintain its stature as the industry's content supplier while also
ramping up the number of shows it makes for HBO Max and other
sister platforms.
In announcing Ms. Dungey's appointment, WarnerMedia Studio and
Networks Group Chair Ann Sarnoff said Ms. Dungey is "a great choice
to lead the Television Group as it continues to grow its production
operations for HBO Max, while also maintaining its standing as the
industry's leading independent supplier of programming to all
outlets."
Ms. Dungey wasn't available for comment. In a statement, she
said, "This is such an electric time in our industry, and we have
so much opportunity available to us between Warner Bros.' core
businesses and HBO Max, I cannot wait to dive in."
The pivot inside WarnerMedia is taking place at other companies
as well, including Comcast Corp.'s NBCUniversal and Disney, as
traditional media giants focus on new direct-to-streaming platforms
in an effort to compete with Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and
others. Ms. Dungey comes to Warner Bros. after a stint of less than
two years at Netflix as a senior content executive. She left in the
wake of a restructuring that led to the departure of longtime
original programming chief Cindy Holland. Bela Bajaria, who had
been in charge of unscripted and international content, was
promoted to new global TV chief.
Although Ms. Dungey left amid several changes under Ms. Bajaria,
a person close to the company said she resigned to pursue this
opportunity and not as a result of the new structure.
Shows Ms. Dungey worked on at Netflix include the recently
released drama "The Queen's Gambit" and "Bridgerton," a historical
drama from "Grey's Anatomy" creator Shonda Rhimes.
Prior to Netflix, Ms. Dungey spent 14 years at Disney in various
programming posts including head of ABC Entertainment. Shows
developed during her tenure included Ms. Rhimes's "Scandal," the
medical drama "The Good Doctor" and the comedy "Black-ish."
Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 19, 2020 12:14 ET (16:14 GMT)
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