Earlier this month, WarnerMedia restructured their leadership team following the departures of long-time HBO CEO, Richard Plepler, and Turner President, David Levy. Now, after a texting scandal, Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara is out.
Last week, The Hollywood Reporter, revealed hundreds of leaked text messages between Tsujihara and actress Charlotte Kirk. In the messages, the executive pushed for auditions and a large monetary settlement for the actress, in fear of extortion of a sexual arrangement between them.
Today, Tsujihara announced his resignation as Chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. In a statement WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey shared, “It is in the best interest of WarnerMedia, Warner Bros., our employees and our partners for Kevin to step down as Chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Kevin has contributed greatly to the studio’s success over the past 25 years and for that we thank him. Kevin acknowledges that his mistakes are inconsistent with the Company’s leadership expectations and could impact the Company’s ability to execute going forward.”
WarnerMedia has yet to name his replacement.
The division will include the entire Warner Bros. Film Television, and Gaming unit, as well as a new Global Kids & Young Adults business that brings together the family, kids and animation efforts from across WarnerMedia, including Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and Boomerang. Additionally, Otter Media, Turner Classic Movies and all activities around licensed consumer products development for WarnerMedia properties.
The company is expected to launch a multi-tier SVOD streaming service later this year, which will be part of WarnerMedia Entertainment, led by former NBC Entertainment President Bob Greenblatt. This will join AT&T’s already launched streaming service’s — DIRECTV NOW and skinny bundle AT&T WatchTV — which both include Turner live channels, as well as a HBO.