AT&T names former Hulu executive Jason Kilar as CEO of WarnerMedia
AT&T has named former Hulu CEO Jason Kilar as the next chief executive of its WarnerMedia unit, the company said in a statement Wednesday.
Kilar will start on May 1, the company said.
The position had previously been filled by John Stankey, who was named president and chief operating officer of AT&T in September while continuing to run WarnerMedia.
AT&T acquired Time Warner in October 2016 in a deal then valued at $85 billion. AT&T closed the deal in July 2018 after a protracted legal battle with the federal government, and then renamed the company WarnerMedia.
Kilar’s main task will be overseeing the company’s new subscription streaming video service, HBO Max, which is slated to launch next month.
Kilar will now oversee units including the Warner Bros. film studio, HBO and the news-and-sports operations run by Jeff Zucker, who had positioned himself as a contender for the WarnerMedia top slot, according to an earlier NBC News report.
He also worked at Amazon as a senior vice president in charge of application software and launched a streaming video service, Vessel, which was acquired by Verizon and shut down.
Kilar is well regarded in the entertainment industry. After the announcement, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings tweeted: "Congratulations @jasonkilar! Scary for us to have you there, but great for the world that HBO will be strong."
