If you are as old as I am, then you remember when cable television first went mainstream, and you also remember the HBO (Home Box Office) was the primary premium channel that everyone was talking about. It was an opportunity see uninterrupted movies as well as see content considered too raw for regular TV. Well, a lot of things have changed since then. You can get almost anything on regular television now, and premium channels like HBO have expanded their programming and their primary focus. One of the brilliant minds HBO’s transformation is their CEO Richard Plepler. While you probably heard his name before, there is a lot that you do not know about him, so here are a few facts that get you caught up.
1. He Is Not a Hired Gun
It has become very common, even fashionable, for companies to go outside of their management hierarchy to hire their CEOs. Many of these companies have taken an approach of hiring proven winners above promoting from within. This is not the case for HBO’s positioning of Richard Plepler as Chairman and CEO of the company. Plepler worked his way up in the company, starting as the SVP of communications back in 1992.
2. Responding to Netflix
It is almost impossible to discuss television and film without mentioning the influence of Netflix and its perceived threat to the industry’s status quo. Plepler has been working on several strategic responses to the immediate access that Netflix provides its viewers, with the introduction of HBO Go, which the company is considering making available to viewers who do not have cable television.
3. The Genius Behind the Surge in Original Programming
Who has not become completely hooked on Game of Thrones? What about Girls? Original programming has been one of the ways that HBO has been able to maintain its stability in a market in which access to recently released movies is almost immediate. Well, Richard Plepler was a primary catalyst behind this surge in original programming that has become so popular. He Did this before becoming the CEO when he was the co-president of the company.
4. He Is Heavily Involved in the Community
We often hear stories about highly influential people who are completely disconnected from the everyday world, making it virtually impossible for others to relate to them or for them to have the capacity to empathize with others. However, this is not the case for Richard Plepler who is involved in the community and connected to several active and impactful organization. He serves on the boards of the New York Public Library and the Asia Society. He also is on the national advisory board for the W.E.B. DuBois Institute at Harvard University.
5. He Is Leading the Charge Against Piracy
One thing that the advance in technology that makes the streaming of film and television content easy has done is make it easier to pirate that same content. I recently wrote an article on how difficult it has been for YouTube to stop the live streaming of paid events and recently released films, and that is only the tip of the iceberg. Plepler has been one of the most outspoken company leaders when it comes to piracy and he is leading the charge to create better safeguards to protect copyrighted content.
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