3 Top Executives Leave HBO's Parent Company WarnerMedia

WarnerMedia, HBO's parent company, experienced a massive shake-up with top executives Robert Greenblatt, Kevin Reilly and Keith Cocozza leaving the firm.

On Friday, new WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar released a memo to staff announcing Ann Sarnoff's promotion as the head of the newly expanded content group. In the memo, he confirmed the departures of Greenblatt, Reilly and Cocozza and thanked them for their contribution to the company.

Greenblatt is out after only a year into his stint as the chairman of WarnerMedia Entertainment. Reilly was WarnerMedia’s chief content officer.

“Three of those talented, admired leaders who will be leaving the company are Bob Greenblatt, Kevin Reilly and Keith Cocozza,” Kilar said in the memo obtained by Variety. “I want to thank Bob and Kevin for getting us to this point with the integration of HBO and the legacy Turner Networks and launch of HBO Max. It has been such an impressive sequence of events, and we are so much better for it.”

Kilar also acknowledged Cocozza, who was executive vice president of marketing and communications, for his 19-year stint in WarnerMedia.

“I also owe a tremendous amount of gratitude and thanks to Keith, for not only helping me navigate these last few months at the company – and with the media – but more importantly for his 19 years at the company through its evolution. I have never met a kinder, more collaborative executive in my career,” Kilar wrote.

“I can’t wait to see how each of these leaders change the world in the years to come,” he concluded.

When asked for comment regarding the executives' departures, Kilar told The New York Times, “Disciplined companies have to make tough decisions.”

Greenblatt joined WarnerMedia in March last year after a successful stint at the head of NBC Entertainment. He helped the company launch HBO Max, which debuted in May. Kilar highlighted in the memo the significance of HBO Max to WarnerMedia's future.

Meanwhile, Reilly joined Turner as head of TNT and TBS in 2014. He was then promoted as head of content for the company. His exit comes amid the new four-year deal he signed with the company in May last year.

NBCUniversal also had a massive reorganization on Thursday, with Paul Telegdy leaving NBC Entertainment amid allegations of racism, sexism and homophobia.

The company has not yet named a new person to lead its entertainment programming unit, but multiple sources told Variety that former NBCU exec Bela Bajaria had been approached for the position.