HBO's Top Programmer to Exit
May 20 2016 - 08:21PM
Dow Jones News
By Joe Flint
Mike Lombardo, the creative executive behind some of HBO's
biggest successes including "Game of Thrones," is leaving the
network by the end of this year.
An HBO veteran of over 30 years and president of programming
since 2007, Mr. Lombardo said he is finalizing a new production
venture affiliated with the Time Warner Inc. unit. He is credited
with revitalizing HBO's programming after the halcyon days of "Sex
and the City" and "The Sopranos" ended.
Available in close to 30 million homes in the U.S. and 130
million world-wide, HBO is one of the key revenue generators for
Time Warner. For the first quarter, HBO had revenue of $1.5 billion
and operating income of $486 million. It recently launched a
digital direct-to-consumer platform that has close to one million
subscribers.
HBO is also facing increased competition for viewers and
content. Not only are cable networks such as AMC and FX spending
more on original programming, but streaming services including
Netflix have also emerged as serious rivals.
In an interview, Mr. Lombardo said he and HBO Chief Executive
Richard Plepler had been talking about his stepping down for the
past nine months. In that time, Mr. Lombardo has made some moves in
reshaping HBO's programming team in anticipation of his departure.
While no successor has been named, earlier this year Casey Bloys
was promoted to president of series, late-night and specials for
HBO. He previously had overseen the network's comedy efforts.
"I'm not a guy who easily makes changes," Mr. Lombardo said of
his decision. As HBO's production levels increased, he said, he
felt himself drifting further away from the creative side of the
business. "What I've found is that I've really enjoyed working with
talent and I don't get to do that as much or as deeply as I want
to."
Among the shows Mr. Lombardo championed were the hit dramas
"True Blood" and "Boardwalk Empire" and the comedies "Veep," and
"Girls" as well as numerous critically acclaimed movies and
documentaries including last year's "The Jinx" about accused
murderer and New York City real estate scion Robert Durst. Last
year, HBO won 43 Emmy Awards, making it the most-awarded network
for the 14th consecutive year.
There have also been some big misses as of late. "Vinyl," a
highly-anticipated and expensive drama about the 1970s New York
music scene that counted filmmaker Martin Scorsese and rock icon
Mick Jagger among its executive producers made its debut to
disappointing ratings and reviews. The network is bringing back but
has plans to significantly retool the show, which counts among its
stars Bobby Cannavale, Olivia Wilde and Ray Romano. Another misfire
was the second season of "True Detective."
Earlier this year, HBO canceled the relationship comedy
"Togetherness" after only two seasons. "The Leftovers," a drama
based on Tom Perrotta's best-selling novel that failed to deliver
strong ratings for the channel will finish its run later this year
after three seasons. HBO has also been plagued with
behind-the-scenes problems at several other projects that it was
counting on to deliver big ratings, including a miniseries on
explorers Lewis and Clark and a drama from producer J.J. Abrams
based on the science fiction cult classic "Westworld."
Among the projects still on Mr. Lombardo's to-do list are new
efforts from Jon Stewart, the former host of Comedy Central's
"Daily Show" and Bill Simmons, the popular sports and pop culture
commentator. HBO is also planning a daily newscast with Vice Media
LLC.
News of Mr. Lombardo's departure was reported earlier by
Variety.
Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 20, 2016 20:06 ET (00:06 GMT)
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