Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara on Monday congratulated employees for the studio’s “most successful year ever” in 2017 and said he expects an “honest and lively” discussion when new parent AT&T conducts a town hall meeting on Wednesday.
The remarks came via an email the exec emailed to his troops on Monday morning that called the $85.4 billion merger with AT&T that closed last week “historic.”
Tsujihara now reports to John Stankey, who heads WarnerMedia, the name AT&T has given to what used to be called Time Warner. Stankey reports to AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson.
“This deal has confirmed the value of premium content, and we produce the world’s best movies, TV shows and games,” Tsujihara wrote.
Also reporting to Stankey at WarnerMedia is HBO CEO Richard Plepler, CNN Worldwide president Jeff Zucker, Turner president David Levy and Turner international president Gerhard Zeiler.
Tsujihara’s email to employees is below.
Dear Colleagues:
Last week was truly historic for Warner Bros. On Tuesday, Time Warner’s merger with AT&T was approved by a federal judge; on Thursday, the transaction was completed; and on Friday, WarnerMedia was revealed as the new name of our parent company.
First and foremost, I want to thank all of you for your continued efforts and commitment to excellence throughout this process. It was a long and sometimes confusing road. And, even though we were mid-merger for all of 2017, the Studio had its most successful year ever — and that was thanks to you, our global team.
This deal has confirmed the value of premium content, and we produce the world’s best movies, TV shows and games. By combining Warner Bros., HBO and Turner’s great content with AT&T’s scale, distribution and consumer insights and access, what we make has become even more valuable. While this is truly an evolution of our business, Randall Stephenson and John Stankey have both said the WarnerMedia companies will continue to have the creative freedom and resources to keep doing what we do best.
I encourage you to join John Stankey and me, either in person or virtually, at our Town Hall on Wednesday. It’ll be a great opportunity for you to hear directly from him and to ask questions. I’m looking forward to lively and honest conversation; I know John is, too. In the meantime, we’ll continue to provide you with the latest information regarding the AT&T transaction and WarnerMedia as it becomes available.
There are exciting opportunities ahead, and there are no other colleagues I’d rather be standing with than all of you. Thank you, again, for everything you do to make Warner Bros. such a special company.
Best regards,
Kevin
