In something of an aboutface, WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar — who was said to be negotiating his exit amid the company’s spinoff into a newly-combined media giant with Discovery — announced today that he will remain at the company until that transaction is complete.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the storied digital exec said in a company-wide address that he plans to reassess his options in the middle of next year, which is when the spin-off and combination are slated to close.
“My plan and my focus is to remain here in my CEO role at WarnerMedia,” Kilar said in a town hall meeting to fete the first anniversary of HBO Max, per the Journal. “I am not thinking right now about post-merger. There will be a time to consider that topic in 2022. I believe we have unfinished business, and the work of the next year can and should be extremely fulfilling as the world continues to see what we are capable of doing.”
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Previous reports alleged that Kilar was not kept in the loop about the $43 billion mega-deal, which will combine two WarnerMedia and Discovery into a media goliath that will presumably be able to compete on the streaming front with the likes of Netflix and Disney+.
Kilar’s tenure at WarnerMedia has seen big and controversial bets, including the decision to release all Warner Bros. movies on HBO Max at the same time that they hit theaters.
