New WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar is putting his stamp on the company with a big reorganization. Leaving WarnerMedia are Bob Greenblatt, chairman, WarnerMedia Entertainment and Direct-to-Consumer, and Kevin Reilly, chief content officer, HBO Max and president, TNT, TBS, and truTV, as well as Keith Cocozza, SVP communications. The move comes four months after Kilar took over the top WarnerMedia post and two months after the launch of HBO Max.
Kevin Reilly has signed a new four-year deal with WarnerMedia that will keep him at the company through 2022 and expand his oversight of its basic cable networks. Reilly will now oversee the TruTV cabler in addition to running TNT and TBS, and serving as chief content officer of direct-to-consumer for WarnerMedia.
The traditional TV landscape where NBC once ruled has been disrupted by the rise of prestige shows on premium cable and online streaming services. All the broadcast networks are scrambling to hold onto their diminishing audiences and cultural relevance. But the demand for the people who developed the arsenal of NBC’s high-quality hits of the 1990s — many of which have sustained their popularity thanks to online streaming — has remained.
TV is changing dramatically. Here are the key executives at the large media giants, wireless carriers, tech companies and everyone that is stuck in between as they duke it out for your time and money.
Kevin Reilly, president of TBS and TNT and chief creative officer for Turner Entertainment, is expanding his role at WarnerMedia to also oversee creative for the company’s upcoming direct-to-consumer streaming platform. He will keep his current Turner responsibilities.
Greg Berlanti, Cesar Conde, Jane Fonda, Kevin Reilly and Tom Selleck will be honored on Jan. 17 during NATPE conference in Miami Beach.
Exclusives
Kevin Reilly, a veteran network executive, aims to transform two cable networks that have come to be known for the repeats they carry.
Kevin Reilly On Transforming TBS And TNT
Kevin Reilly is giving himself three years to reinvent TBS and TNT. He joined the networks as chief creative officer in late 2014 and spent much of last year quietly making changes. The Turner transformation kicked off last week with the Jan. 17 premiere of Rashida Jones’ new TBS comedy Angie Tribeca. Reilly shares what else is on tap.
Following one of the lengthiest executive courtships, former Fox Chairman Kevin Reilly has closed a deal to join Turner Broadcasting as president of TNT and TBS and chief creative officer of Turner Entertainment. Starting this fall and based in Los Angeles, Reilly will report to David Levy, president of Turner Broadcasting.
The on-again, off-again Turner-Kevin Reilly courtship is back on. Soon after Turner Broadcasting toppers broke off negotiations with the former Fox chairman two weeks ago, the two sides restarted conversations. Turner Broadcasting President David Levy’s string of meetings last week with prospective candidates to succeed Steve Koonin included a sit-down with Reilly.
Kevin Reilly, the departing head of entertainment at Fox Broadcasting, is among the executives Time Warner Inc. is considering to be president of Turner Entertainment Networks, a person familiar with the matter says.
Fox’s chairman Kevin Reilly has stepped down after much upfront-season speculation about how much longer the exec’s tenure would last. In his absence he leaves… no one, yet. Several people have already suggested FX President John Landgraf, given the success of that network’s original programming. Of course, since Fox owns both properties, it might want to keep Landgraf where’s he’s successful—and anyway, he’s insisted he’s not interested. That leaves a few options. Here are some suggestions.
The network’s broadcast chairman Kevin Reilly, who has been at Fox since 2007, will leave at the end of June. A successor has not yet been named. In the interim period, Reilly’s senior executives will report to Peter Rice, chairman and CEO of Fox Networks Group.
Fox’s Reilly Pushes Cross-Platform Ratings
With many TV broadcasters continuing to suffer with weak viewership on their linear networks, Kevin Reilly, Fox chairman of entertainment, stressed that live-only TV ratings shouldn’t be looked in a vacuum.
Fox’s Reilly Says TV Ratings Don’t Work
Fox network’s entertainment chief Kevin Reilly said Thursday that traditional TV ratings aren’t fully capturing the popularity of programming in a changing marketplace. Reilly said industry observers are focusing too narrowly on overnight ratings data and not giving enough weight to viewing over a series of days on digital video recorders, on-demand services, and streaming video sites.
Fox’s Reilly Abandoning Business As Usual
Fox President Kevin Reilly began his press tour session with an Oprah Winfrey-length filibuster. Given the season his network had — with the collapse of American Idol ratings ending the network’s long streak as the highest-rated network on TV — the move wasn’t a surprise. Lengthy monologues are one way for TV executives to distract us from the recent bad news at their network (or, at least, to suck away all our will to live or ask tough questions). But Reilly’s speech had less to do with trying to change the narrative about Fox than trying to change the narrative about the broadcast network business in general.
Fox’s Original Idea: No More Reruns
The network is committing itself to scheduling more original programming — all year, but especially in the summer — to counter the effects of cable and DVRs. The strategy includes “event series” like those that have performed well on cable. Among the event series in development is a remake of Shogun, an NBC miniseries that aired over five days in 1980.
Reilly: TV Violence Part Of Larger ‘Tapestry’
On Tuesday at the Television Critics Association press tour, Fox Entertainment Chairman Kevin Reilly was on the defensive when pressed by journalists on media violence questions that have become a hot topic in the wake of last month’s shooting rampage that left 26 people dead, 20 of them children, at a Connecticut elementary school.
At the HRTS newsmaker luncheon, Kevin Reilly says network executives have not fully realized the impact of the DVR and that he is considering a year-round development process. Fox “will do other things when we get to the upfront this year,” he said.
Kevin Reilly, formerly the president of entertainment for the company, will oversee all the network’s programming, scheduling, marketing, research, digital and business affairs.
The Fox Broadcasting Co. entertainment president will receive the National Champion for Children Award from the Alliance For Children’s Rights at its 20th anniversary dinner gala.
Network TV Chiefs: Good Times Are Back
Buoyed by a record upfront on Madison Avenue in the spring, as well as a flurry of hit new comedies in the fall, broadcast network entertainment presidents expressed a consensus of optimism as they met for a Hollywood Radio TV Society lunchtime panel.
Kevin Reilly says that one of the strategies on the top of his “to do” list is adding more live-action comedies to Fox and build its brand association in that genre. He’s also intent on building out the entire year for the network, where he serves as entertainment president.
Fox: We Want ‘House’ And ‘Bones’
“We want them both,” Kevin Reilly, Fox entertainment president told reporters. “It’s really about whether we can make a deal.”
