Today AT&T announced that Jeff McElfresh will become the new head of AT&T TV NOW, AT&T TV and DIRECTV. Jeff McElfresh will now report to John Stankey who is the CEO of WarnerMedia when he takes over effective October 1st when John Donovan retires. This is a new change as in the past WarnerMedia did not oversee AT&T’s traditional TV efforts like DIRECTV. Now though AT&T’s cable networks, streaming services, and traditional pay-TV service are all being lumped under John Stankey the CEO of WarnerMedia as part of his new role as President and COO.
“Now is the time to more tightly align our collection of world-class content, scaled consumer relationships, technical know-how and innovative advertising technology,” said Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and CEO. “It’s the natural next step in bringing together the distinct and complimentary capabilities of AT&T Communications, WarnerMedia and Xandr to deliver for consumers the benefits of a modern media company. AT&T is alone in the industry in being able to bring together these three great businesses for the launch of innovative consumer offers, relevant advertising and new entertainment services like HBO Max.
“John is an outstanding executive who has led nearly every area of our business, helped shape our strategy and excelled at operations throughout his career. The Board and I look forward to John hitting the ground running in his new role as president and COO,” Stephenson said.
“And I’m excited to have Jeff leading our communications business into the future. He is an accomplished leader with experience across our business — from strategy, technology and network, to marketing, operations and customer experience. This past year, Jeff led the team that won AT&T recognition for having the best, fastest and most reliable wireless network in the country,” Stephenson said.
John Stankey joined AT&T back in 1985 and has most recently lead AT&T’s WarnerMedia as CEO. Mr. Stankey will add oversight of AT&T TV NOW, AT&T TV, and DIRECTV to his current position overseeing WarnerMedia and AT&T’s ad unit Xandr. Mr. McElfresh has worked at AT&T for nearly 25 years including rolls as AT&T Communications Technology and Operations group where he was responsible for the company’s network, technology, cybersecurity, data, and labs operations.
What this means for the future of AT&T TV, AT&T TV NOW, and DIRECTV is unknown but this move does support reports that AT&T HBO Max and AT&T’s traditional TV services will be closely tied together.
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