LONDON, Apr 30, 2014 - (ACN Newswire) - The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the world's largest and most prestigious annual awards and celebration of creative excellence in advertising and communications, will this year honour Richard Plepler, Chief Executive Officer of HBO with the Media Person of the Year 2014 Award.
Each year, the organisers of Cannes Lions present this prestigious accolade to a prominent personality who is an influential figure in the development of today's media landscape, ultimately playing an integral part in shaping the future of the global advertising and communications industry.
Richard Plepler is responsible for the overall management of the world's most successful pay TV service, which provides the two television networks - HBO and Cinemax - to over 114 million subscribers worldwide. Universally renowned, the HBO and Cinemax services offer the most popular subscription video-on-demand products: HBO On Demand, Cinemax On Demand, HBO GO, MAX GO, HD feeds and multiplex channels; and HBO programming is sold into over 150 countries globally.
Following mega-hits such as The Sopranos and Sex and the City, Richard Plepler is credited with reinvigorating the network in partnership with Michael Lombardo, president of HBO Programming, after green-lighting some of HBO's most acclaimed and successful series including True Blood, Boardwalk Empire, The Newsroom, Game of Thrones and True Detective, which rank among the top programmes in the network's history. Additional award-winning programmes include the miniseries Mildred Pierce and Generation Kill; and HBO Films include Too Big To Fail, Temple Grandin, Taking Chance, Grey Gardens, Game Change, You Don't Know Jack and The Normal Heart. Plepler also drove Cinemax's first foray into primetime originals with the popular action series Strike Back.
"Under Richard's leadership, HBO has proved that reports of the death of television were extremely premature. By putting excellence in content first and last, and by creating highly acclaimed and award-winning shows, he has boosted audiences around the world whilst establishing a widespread and active international fan base," says Philip Thomas, CEO of Cannes Lions. "Cannes Lions is delighted to recognise Richard's achievements and present him with the Media Person of the Year award."
After graduating and joining the staff of Senator Christopher Dodd, Plepler founded RLP, his own consultancy specialising in strategic communication and production 1985-1992. In 1992 he joined HBO as senior vice president, Corporate Communications; promoted to executive vice president, Corporate Communications in 1997; named executive vice president, HBO, in 2002; and elevated to co-president, HBO, in 2007 before taking on his current role in 2013.
Commenting on the award, Richard Plepler says, "I couldn't be more honoured to accept this prestigious award on behalf of HBO," said Richard Plepler, CEO of HBO. "HBO has always stood for excellence and quality across all levels of our business both domestically and around the world. To join such a distinguished list of honourees and their great companies is a special privilege."
Richard Plepler will be honoured with the Media Person of the Year award on Tuesday 17 June in the Palais des Festivals, Cannes, France.
Previous recipients of the Media Person of the Year Award include, Salar Kamangar, CEO of YouTube; Jack Dorsey, Creator, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Twitter; Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of Google; Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and CEO of Facebook; Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft Corporation; Tsuneo Watanabe, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of The Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings; and Sumner Redstone, Chairman and CEO of Viacom.
To register to attend the 61st Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, please visit www.canneslions.com.
About Home Box Office, Inc.
Home Box Office, Inc. is the premium television programming subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. and the world's most successful pay TV service, providing the two television services - HBO(R) and Cinemax(R) - to approximately 127 million subscribers worldwide. The services offer the most popular subscription video-on-demand products, HBO On Demand(R) and Cinemax On Demand(R)(R) as well as HBO GO(R) and MAX GO(R), HD feeds and multiplex channels. Internationally, HBO branded television networks, along with the subscription video-on-demand products HBO On Demand and HBO GO, bring HBO services to over 70 countries. HBO and Cinemax programming is sold into over 150 countries worldwide.
About Time Warner Inc.
Time Warner Inc., a global leader in media and entertainment with businesses in television networks, film and TV entertainment and publishing, uses its industry-leading operating scale and brands to create, package and deliver high-quality content worldwide through multiple distribution outlets.
About Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity
The 61st Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity will be held 15-21 June 2014, Palais des Festivals, Cannes, France. The International Festival of Creativity, also known as Cannes Lions, is the world's leading celebration of creativity in communications. Founded in 1954, the Festival takes place every June in Cannes, France.
As the most prestigious international annual advertising and communications awards, over 35,500 entries from all over the world are showcased and judged at the Festival. Winning companies receive the highly coveted Lion trophy, a global benchmark of creative excellence, for Film, Print, Outdoor, Interactive, Radio, Design, Product Design, Promo & Activation, Film Craft, Mobile, Branded Entertainment and Integrated advertising, as well as the best Media, Direct, PR, Titanium, Creative Effectiveness and Innovation ideas. The Festival is also the only truly global meeting place for advertisers, advertising and communication professionals.
More than 12,000 delegates from 95 countries attend a week-long programme of exhibitions, screenings and talks by worldwide thought leaders. As the networking and learning opportunity of the year, Cannes Lions is the must-attend event for anyone involved in brand communications. For further information, please visit www.canneslions.com.
About Lions Festivals
Lions Festivals is the organiser of Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and Eurobest as well as co-organisers, with its joint venture partners, of Dubai Lynx International Festival of Creativity, Spikes Asia Festival of Creativity, Festival of Asian Marketing Effectiveness, and the Digital Asia Festival. www.lionsfestivals.com. Lions Festivals is powered by Top Right Group.
Source: Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity
Contact:
Amanda Benfell
Head of Press & PR, Lions Festivals
Tel: +44-20-3033-4000
E-mail: amandab@canneslions.com
HBO
Quentin Schaffer
EVP, Corporate Communications
Tel: +1-212-512-1329
Time Warner Inc.
Keith Cocozza
SVP, Communications
Tel: +1-212-484-7482
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