LIONS DAILY NEWS
WEDNESDAY / JUNE 18 / 2014
NEWS
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MEDIA PERSON OF THE YEAR THE CANNES LIONS INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF CREATIVITY’S MEDIA PERSON OF THE YEAR FOR 2014 IS RICHARD PLEPLER, CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF TIME WARNER’S ACCLAIMED PAY-TV OPERATOR HBO INC.
N THE announcement of the 2014 Media Person Of The Year award, Cannes Lions’ Philip Thomas said of the HBO CEO: “Under Richard’s leadership, HBO has proved that reports of the death of television were extremely premature. By putting excellence in content first and last, and by creating acclaimed and awardwinning shows, he has boosted audiences around the world whilst establishing a widespread and active fan base.” Key to HBO’s success has been Plepler’s unwavering support for original quality programming. As co-president from 2007 to 2012, Plepler, in partnership with Michael Lombardo, president, HBO Programming, greenlit some of HBO’s most acclaimed and successful series including True Blood, Boardwalk Empire, The Newsroom and international phenomenon Game Of Thrones. More recently, he has backed innovative and critically-respected shows like Silicon Valley, Last Week Tonight With John Oliver and True Detective. The latter series launched in early 2014 and became the most-watched debuting series in HBO’s history. While content production has always been the key to HBO’s success, Plepler has also overseen a sustained expansion in the distribution of HBO and its sister service Cinemax. Today, the services are available to 127 million subscribers in 70 countries worldwide. In addition to its linear channels, the company has also introduced acclaimed video-ondemand products such as HBO Go. Alongside these developments in its branded services, the company has also sold its programming to over 150 countries.
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Some analysts have questioned the future for services like HBO in the era that has seen the rise of VOD platforms like Netflix and Amazon Instant Video. But Plepler, who has worked at HBO since 1992, believes the company’s best defence is to continue being a magnet for the world’s best creative talent. He said recently: “As long as we are playing our game, to our full capacity, which is what we think about everyday, we are going to have more than our fair share of attention and acclaim. So that’s the focus. What you want is Lena Dunham [Girls creator and star] feeling that there is not a better place to work, because she is talking to her friends in the creative community, and she is saying this is an extraordinary experience.” Previous recipients of the Media Person Of The Year Award have included Jack Dorsey, creator, co-founder and executive chairman of Twitter; Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google; Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook; and Sumner Redstone, chairman and CEO of Viacom. Commenting on his own Award, Plepler said, “I couldn’t be more honoured to accept this prestigious award on behalf of HBO. HBO has always stood for excellence and quality across all levels of our business both domestically and around the world. To join such a distinguished list of honourees and their great companies is a special privilege.”
6/17/14 9:47 PM