When you have a winning team, why change it?
That seems to be the approach Casey Bloys is taking as he begins his new role as Co-Chair and Chief Content Officer of Skydance’s direct-to-consumer division.
Bloys officially announced his senior leadership team on Friday, October 23, and if you’ve been following HBO for the last several years, you’re going to recognize just about every name on the list.
According to Deadline, Bloys is bringing his entire senior leadership team from HBO and HBO Max into the newly combined Skydance streaming operation.
The announcement comes just weeks after the October 6 closing of the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger, which brought HBO Max and Paramount+ under the same corporate umbrella.
And it looks like HBO’s leadership is going to have a major influence on what comes next.
Among the biggest moves is the promotion of Francesca Orsi to President of HBO Drama Series and Films. Orsi previously served as EVP of HBO Programming and Head of HBO Drama Series and Films. Her expanded role will include working directly with Bloys to determine which projects are the right fit for HBO.
Sarah Aubrey is also getting significantly more responsibility.
Aubrey has been named Head of Paramount+, Max Originals and International Programming. She will oversee Paramount+’s programming while continuing her responsibilities with Max Originals and international programming.
That change comes as Jane Wiseman, Paramount+’s EVP and Head of Originals, prepares to leave the company.
Meanwhile, Glenn Whitehead will serve as President and COO of HBO and Paramount+, overseeing business affairs, production and operations across both streaming services.
Other executives remaining in leadership positions include Amy Gravitt, who oversees comedy programming; Nina Rosenstein, who handles late-night programming and specials; and Nancy Abraham and Lisa Heller, who oversee documentaries.
Jeff Cusson will also take on an expanded role as EVP and Head of Communications for Skydance DTC.
So, what does this mean for Paramount+ and HBO Max?
For starters, it appears that Skydance CEO David Ellison is putting a lot of faith in the leadership team that helped make HBO one of television’s most respected brands.
And quite frankly, I don’t think that’s a bad decision.
HBO has spent decades building a reputation for producing some of the best television available. With shows like The White Lotus and the upcoming Harry Potter series, the network continues to position itself as a destination for premium programming.
Paramount+, meanwhile, has built its own audience with successful franchises like Landman and the expanding Yellowstone universe.
The challenge now is figuring out how to bring these two very different streaming brands together without losing what makes each one successful.
In his internal memo, Bloys emphasized that HBO Max and Paramount+ will continue operating separately until the company is ready to combine them.
The services are expected to spend an estimated one to two years operating as separate but bundled platforms before transitioning into a single streaming service.
That gives Bloys and his team some time to figure out exactly what the future looks like.
Personally, I think the biggest question is whether Paramount+ will maintain its own identity or eventually become another programming category within a much larger HBO Max experience.
Either way, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: HBO’s leadership team is firmly in the driver’s seat.
And now we’ll get to see whether they can bring that same success to Paramount+.