HBO honoured at Banff

This year’s Banff World Media Festival in Canada will be headlined by top executives from premium US cablenet HBO, which has been named the 2016 Company of Distinction.

Richard Plepler

HBO CEO Richard Plepler will deliver the Company of Distinction keynote on June 14 and will be interviewed by Canadian TV personality Ben Mulroney, host of CTV’s Etalk.

Programming president Michael Lombardo, meanwhile, will join Damon Lindelof, co-creator/showrunner of HBO’s drama The Leftovers, for a special Fireside Chat on June 13.

Lombardo will also be present at Banff’s Rockie Awards Gala on June 14 to accept the Company of Distinction Award on behalf of HBO.

The title, which honours the most prestigious companies in the TV business, was first awarded in 2013 to CBS Corp and in 2014 went to Lionsgate Entertainment, followed by A+E Networks last year.

Time Warner subsidiary HBO reaches approximately 131 million subscribers globally with its HBO and Cinemax channels and last year launched a standalone streaming service, HBO Now, for broadband-only customers in the US.

The network is known for its big-budget dramas such as Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire and The Newsroom, as well as comedies including Veep and Curb Your Enthusiasm.