Casey Bloys to lead Paramount-Warner streaming as Cindy Holland exits
Casey Bloys is set to run streaming for the combined Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery business as Cindy Holland leaves Paramount.
David Ellison, boss of the combined company, picked Bloys to lead the joint streaming operation, according to The Wall Street Journal. Bloys is chairman of HBO and HBO Max content. Holland, Paramount's direct-to-consumer chair, meaning the executive in charge of its streaming services, has told colleagues she will leave, Variety reported.
Bloys will report directly to Ellison. He would not accept anything less than reporting to Ellison himself. Asked by Variety in July if he would report to anyone other than Ellison, he replied: "I think you probably know the answer to that."
The appointment was first reported on Sept. 29. The Journal said Holland was leaving to make way for Bloys. A separate Variety report on Sept. 29 described Bloys as poised to take the reins of streaming operations across the two groups.
Ellison plans to eventually merge HBO Max and Paramount+ into a single entity. The apps stay separate for now. Both services will continue to operate as separate services for consumers in the near future, and both are profitable.
The leadership change follows Paramount Skydance's win in the battle for Warner Bros. Discovery. Netflix ended its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery in February, leaving Paramount Skydance to take the company, according to Variety reporting at the time. Bloys said during Emmys weekend that he hoped the two companies would soon merge.
That deal still faces a legal challenge. California Attorney General Rob Bonta and 11 other state attorneys general have sued over the Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery combination. Earlier reporting from March said Paramount leadership wanted HBO to keep developing and programming content with special treatment inside any larger organisation.
For viewers, this means no immediate change to subscriptions or apps. One executive will now sit above both HBO Max and Paramount+, with the longer-term plan to bring them together.
