Combined images of AT&T CEO John Stankey (L)and john stankey WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar.ReutersIn December 2018, John Stankey sat down with HBO CEO Richard Plepler and his leadership team.Stankey, the AT&T veteran running WarnerMedia at the time, was meeting with division heads to hear ideas on how to combat the threat from Netflix and the secular decline of cable television. This was the first time Stankey had heard from Plepler’s full team about their plan.HBO was the crown jewel of Time Warner, which AT&T had recently acquired for $100 billion with debt. It took two …
