T AT&T Inc

By Joe Flint 

New WarnerMedia Chief Executive Jason Kilar has ousted the leadership of HBO Max, the new direct-to-consumer streaming service that launched less than three months ago.

Mr. Kilar decided to remove Robert Greenblatt and Kevin Reilly, the two executives who have overseen the new service, as part of a broader restructuring of AT&T Inc.'s WarnerMedia that he unveiled Friday afternoon.

In a memo to staff, Mr. Kilar said Ann Sarnoff, the chair and chief executive of the Warner Bros. movie and television studio, will now add oversight over content for HBO, HBO Max and the cable networks group which includes TNT, TBS and TruTV. All of those entities had previously been under Mr. Greenblatt, who had served as chairman of WarnerMedia Entertainment.

Andy Forsell, currently the general manager of HBO Max, will oversee the business operations of the unit as well as marketing and consumer engagement. Both he and Ms. Sarnoff will report to Mr. Kilar.

Also elevated in the reorganization is Casey Bloys, who currently oversees original programming for HBO. Mr. Bloys will now report to Ms. Sarnoff and be directly responsible for original content of HBO Max and the entertainment cable networks. He is essentially assuming the role previously held by Mr. Reilly.

The moves by Mr. Kilar upend the structure his predecessor John Stankey had set up before ascending to chief executive of AT&T last month.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 07, 2020 17:01 ET (21:01 GMT)

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