ParamountPSKYCEO David Ellison has selected HBO content chief Casey Bloys to lead streaming operations following the company’s merger with Warner Bros. DiscoveryWBD, media reports said.
It’s the first major executive decision by Ellison ahead of Paramount’sPSKYplanned $81B acquisition of Warner, which owns HBO and the streaming service HBO Max.
As a result, Cindy Holland, the former NetflixNFLXprogramming executive whom Ellison put in charge of Paramount’s streaming platforms, including Paramount+, about a year ago, is leaving the company. In a memo to staff, Holland said Tuesday was her last day.The New York Timesfirst reported news of her departure.
As David readies for the next phase
“As David readies for the next phase of his vision, we’ve discussed my role and the future of the combined businesses,” Holland wrote. “David is optimizing for HBO stability as we move into this next chapter, and I fully support that.”
Ellison was concerned that losing Bloys would damage the HBO brand, which is a crucial part of the company’s streaming strategy, a person familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal. Bloys wasn’t interested in partnering with another executive to run the streaming operation and had made that clear to Paramount, the report said.
In a statement, Ellison praised Holland, saying she is a “force of nature whose impact on Paramount over the past year has been significant.”
Additional shake-ups are expected in the days ahead once Paramount gets official court approval of the settlement, which could come as early as this week. DisclaimerContent provided by Seeking Alpha is intended for information purposes only, and that Seeking Alpha does not offer any personalist investment advice and is not a licensed securities dealer, broker, US investment adviser or investment bank.
