As the chairman and CEO of Time Warner’s crown jewel since January 2013, Plepler’s realm includes HBO and Cinemax, which reach a combined worldwide audience of over 127 million subscribers. Prior to assuming his current position, Plelper served as co-president of HBO alongside Michael Lombardo from 2007-2013, a period that saw the launch of some of HBO’s most lauded series including “Game of Thrones,” “True Blood,” “Boardwalk Empire” and “The Newsroom” and also ushered in Cinemax’s first primetime original series, “Strike Back.”
Over the years, Plepler has been involved with launching some of the company’s most addictive and binge-able series, including “Girls,” “True Detective,” and “Veep,” as well as the notable TV movies and limited series “Behind the Candelabra,” “Game Change,” and “Mildred Pierce.” He also continues seeking innovative programming like “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver.” At the same time, Plepler is aggressive in making sure HBO and Cinemax programming is available on as many platforms as possible like HBO On Demand, Cinemax On Demand, HBO GO, and MAX GO.
Despite the influx of new competitors, Plepler has always remained confident in HBO’s value proposition to consumers. “First, it was broadcast,” he told reporters in 2013. “Then premium, then basic, and digital, and Amazon. We live very comfortably among competition and we think there is plenty of room for other people to do good work. We concentrate…on being the best version of ourselves as we can be.”