By Helen Coster
(Reuters) - AT&T Inc (N:T) on Wednesday named Jason Kilar, former head of video streaming platform Hulu, as chief executive officer of its WarnerMedia unit starting in May, when it plans to launch its HBO Max service to compete with streaming heavyweights Netflix and Disney+.
Kilar will report to AT&T Chief Operating Officer John Stankey, the company said https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200401005550/en.
Kilar was recruited from Amazon.com Inc (O:AMZN) to be the founding chief executive of Hulu from 2007 until 2013. His focus on the user experience at Hulu was credited as a main reason for the service's early success.
The move is significant because AT&T chose to hire externally rather than tap one of its own executives. Jeff Zucker, CNN president who runs all news and sports at WarnerMedia, had been seen as a potential candidate.
The company is betting heavily on its forthcoming streaming service, HBO Max, which will compete against rivals Netflix Inc (O:NFLX) and Walt Disney Co's (N:DIS) Disney+.
Kilar replaces John Stankey, who in October became AT&T COO while continuing to run WarnerMedia. Stankey has been seen as heir apparent to AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson.
(This story refiles to add missing word "which" in paragraph 5)