Founding CEO Jason Kilar of streaming service Hulu is the new CEO of WarnerMedia, the company announced today.  Kilar will report to and takes over from John Stankey, who has been moved upstairs as AT&T President and Chief Operating Officer. 

Kilar was CEO of streamer Hulu from its founding in 2007, when it was envisioned as a streaming service co-owned by multiple entertainment giants (it’s now a Disney subsidiary), until 2013, when he co-founded and served as CEO of streaming service Vessel until 2017.  Kilar has also served on the boards of Univision Communications and Dreamworks Animation. Earlier he spent time at Amazon as SVP.

Kilar’s hiring shows the importance media giants such as WarnerMedia are placing on streaming as the key focus for the future.  The company’s new HBA Max streaming service is scheduled to launch next month (see “A Plethora of DC Content on HBO Max”).

Ann Sarnoff, appointed Chair and CEO of DC parent Warner Bros. last year (see “Ann Sarnoff Named Chair & CEO at Warner Bros.”), will now presumably report to fellow Harvard MBA Kilar.