Richard Plepler

Richard Plepler (born 1958)
September 21, 2012 is an American media executive, who is said to have ushered in the second golden age of television, and former chairman and chief executive officer of Home Box Office, Inc. (HBO) a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc, and AT&T's WarnerMedia. After 28 years, on February 28, 2019, it was announced that Plepler was leaving HBO, eight months after the AT&T Time Warner merger.

In 2020, Plepler launched EDEN Productions and announced a five-year production deal with AppleTV+ to make television series, documentaries, and feature films.

Biography

Plepler was born in Manchester, Connecticut, to a Jewish family. He is the elder of two brothers raised in Manchester. His parents were active in Democratic politics. His father was a trial lawyer. He attended the Loomis Chaffee School before graduating from Franklin & Marshall College.Variety Magazine: "Richard Plepler, CHAIRMAN / CEO HBO"
retrieved October 28, 2017

Early career

Plepler studied government in college and then moved to Washington in 1981 where he worked for Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd.

In 1984, Plepler moved to New York City, where he opened a public relations firm and produced a series of interviews for The Atlantic magazine and a documentary on Israel and the Palestinian conflict.

Plepler joined HBO in 1992 as an Executive Vice President, at a time when the channel was known for showing movies and premium sporting events. He began his career as head of communications and rose through the ranks, In 2007, he was appointed and served as co-president of HBO from 2007 to 2013 (under Chairman & CEO Bill Nelson) responsible for overseeing all of HBO’s original programming as well as other areas.

Chairman and CEO at HBO

Plepler was appointed chairman and CEO of HBO in 2013 and held his position until 2019, culminating 28 years at the company. During that time, HBO launched Emmy Award winning series including ''Game of Thrones, True Blood, Boardwalk Empire, Veep,'' ''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, The Newsroom'', and '' Big Little Lies''.

Under Plepler's leadership, the network's series won more than 160 Emmys; subscribership for HBO and sister channel Cinemax grew by nearly 40 million; and the HBO channels' revenue increased by $2 billion, a 40% increase. Plepler led the launch of HBO on digital platforms such as Amazon and Hulu. On February 28, 2019, it was announced that Plepler was leaving HBO. 4In his resignation memo, Plepler stated, "hard as it is to think about leaving the company I love, and the people I love in it, it is the right time for me to do so".

EDEN Productions

In January 2020, Plepler announced that he has started a production company called EDEN Productions, and that he and the company has signed a five-year deal with Apple TV+ to exclusively produce content for the streaming service.

The Problem with Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart’s new bi-weekly current-affairs series, '' The Problem with Jon Stewart'', premiered on September 30, 2021, on AppleTV+.

Black Bird

Black Bird, a six-part limited series, came to AppleTV+ on July 8, 2022, starring Taron Egerton  (“Rocketman”), Paul Walter Hauser (“Richard Jewel”), Ray Liotta, Greg Kinnear and  Sepadoh Moafi. Written by novelist Dennis Lehane and executive produced by Plepler, the series is based on the 2010 autobiographical novel ''In with the Devil: a Fallen Hero, a Serial, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption'' by James Keene and Hillel Levin.

Franklin

In February 2022, Apple announced an eight-episode drama series Franklin based on the life of founding father Benjamin Franklin. Michel Douglas stars in this series based on Pulitzer Prize winner Stacy Shiff’s book “A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France and the Birth of America.” Filmed in France, the drama is directed by Tim Van Patten who serves as Executive Producer alongside Douglas, Plepler and Tony Krantz. Kirk Elis wrote the teleplay.

Awards and Honors

In 2014 Plepler was named Media Person of the Year by Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and in 2013 was inducted into Broadcasting and Cable Magazine's Hall of Fame. He was awarded the International Emmy® Directorate Award for his impact on the industry from the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 2015. He also earned the prestigious ''Driver of Change'' Award at the FT ArcelorMittal Boldness in Business Awards that year (2015).

In 2016, Fast Company welcomed Richard to their list of Most Creative People in Business and he won the Variety Vanguard Award for contribution to the TV business in 2017. Plepler was inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame in 2018.

Philanthropy

Plepler sits on the board of directors of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the board of trustees for the New York Public Library.

Personal life

In 2002, Plepler married Lisa Ruchlamer; they have one daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plepler, Richard
Living people
20th-century American Jews
American chief executives
International Emmy Directorate Award
1958 births
Franklin & Marshall College alumni
21st-century American Jews
Loomis Chaffee School alumni