WARNERMEDIA MERGES HBO AND HBO MAX PRODUCTION AND BUSINESS DIVISIONS

WarnerMedia will merge HBO and HBO Max closer together by combining the respective production and business affairs teams under one unit. The changes have led to executive Sandra Dewey’s departure. “As HBO Max moves toward the same in-house production model that’s been the heart of the HBO programming line-up for the past many years, it’s become clear that we need greater consistency across the business and production practices of HBO and HBO Max,” Glenn Whitehead, president of business affairs & production at HBO and HBO Max, said.

As part of the reorganization, Janet Graham Borba’s role has been expanded to executive Vice President of production for HBO and HBO Max, while Susanna Felleman will now serve as executive vice president of business affairs for HBO and HBO Max. Longtime executive Pat Kelly is also set to depart. “Sandra and Pat have both made invaluable contributions to the company throughout their tenures, and we owe them a huge debt of gratitude. They’re outstanding colleagues, and we wish them all the best in their future endeavors,” Whitehead added.

WarnerMedia has gone through a series of staff changes, including several waves of layoffs under CEO Jason Kilar, as it focuses on HBO Max. Dewey was most recently president of business operations & production at streamer HBO Max and sibling cable nets TBS, TNT, and truTV, but is set to depart this year.

Kelly had been with Warner for almost two decades and worked across originals and co-productions, while Dewey had been with the company for more than 20 years and had been instrumental in launching HBO Max. Borba joined the company over 25 years ago, and most recently led production for HBO and has worked on numerous hits including “Game Of Thrones,” while fellow veteran Felleman took her most recent role in charge of business affairs for the cabler in 2016. Future plans for the executives who are set to exit the company have not been mentioned.