JOHN STANKEY

WARNER MEDIA CEO

GOAL› Launch a sub script ion-vodproduc ton a backbone of HBO, Warner Bros. and Turner programming without cannibalizing existing businesses STANKEY’S TALL ORDER FOR 2019: Take on Netflix, Amazon, Disney-fox and others in the streaming wars ASAP without jeopardizing the billions in revenue from HBO, Turner and Warner Bros. The longtime AT&T exec is under pressure to justify the telco’s $85 billion purchase of Time Warner. His highest-profile project is a movie-led subscription-vod service targeted for a fourth- quarter debut. Stankey hasn’t shied away from shaking things up: Since the creation of WarnerMedia, the company has shut down what it has deemed niche businesses, including streaming services Filmstruck and Dramafever. He’s been down the self- disruption road already as AT&T’S overseer of Directv. In late 2016, Stankey led the launch of Directv Now; the streaming service has 1.9 million customers, although over the same period, Directv has shed 1.4 million satellite-tv subs. For his new balancing act, Stankey will rely on execs like TBS/TNT boss Kevin Reilly, who’s steering Warnermedia’s SVOD programming strategy.

TREND TO WATCH: “We’ll continue to keep an eye on consumers’ behavioral changes, including the shift in viewing habits,” Stankey says. He’s also tracking “how the next generation of ad solutions can satisfy marketers’ demands for better [ways] to reach and engage audiences.”