WBD veteran Robert Blair departs as company faces “inflection point”

Robert Blair

Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD) president of International TV Distribution, Robert Blair, is departing after 25 years with the company.

His exit was announced in an internal memo to staff today, seen by TBI, from Gerhard Zeiler, WBD’s president of international, who revealed that Blair will not be replaced in his role.

Zeiler said that the decision was made after “much deliberation” and that it is “a necessary structural change to our team design that both flattens and streamlines the Content Licensing organization.”

According to the note, Blair will leave the company “over the summer” and prior to his departure will work closely with Zeiler to “even further empower” the WBD content licensing team.

Zeiler said that Blair’s departure “is certainly no reflection of his performance, but rather a shift we need to make to continue to refine our efficiency and cost structure.

He explained: “Last year, we unveiled a new org structure for International, which we believed best positioned us for success at that time. But we also acknowledged that in an ever-changing industry and market, we would need to continue to evolve in a thoughtful and strategic way, along with the climate around us.

“Seven months into 2023, although we remain confident about our trajectory as a business, we are at another inflection point, and one where the global economy has not rebounded as quickly as we had hoped.”

Game Of Thrones

Refined cost structure

Blair has been with the company for a quarter of a century, during which time he has overseen the international sales strategy for some of its biggest titles, including Game Of Thrones and its prequel House Of The Dragon.

He originally joined Warner Bros. International Television Distribution in 1998 as general manager of Canadian operations and was promoted to president in 2019, reporting to Jeffrey Schlesinger (who was cut the following year), and holding on to his role in the Discovery merger.

Sharing praise for the outgoing Blair, Zeiler said: “Robert’s contribution to the company in his 25 years has been outstanding and can be measured in several billions of dollars of sales contracts he made possible every single year.

“Despite being known as tough negotiator, he is respected by all of his clients he dealt with. He is also an exceptional leader, who mentored many talents within the company and is admired and valued by his team.”