Variety, in wake of the exit of network head Pola Changnon this week. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav had been considering bringing in De Luca and Abdy for some time, insiders said, to rely on their cinephile instincts and shape the best possible programming slate for the channel — one beloved by Hollywood titans and film fans for its showcase of film history.
TCM will still exist with the US Networks Group run by Kathleen Finch. While De Luca and Abdy will advise, a senior executive in charge of operations is expected to be named in the future.
Warner Bros. Discovery had no comment on the matter. The exit of Changnon, along with other key TCM employees, caused an outcry from the film community — including top directors Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and Paul Thomas Anderson, who met with Zaslav Wednesday, and released a statement saying “We have each spent time talking to David, separately and together, and it’s clear that TCM and classic cinema are very important to him.
Our primary aim is to ensure that TCM’s programming is untouched and protected.” De Luca and Abdy have already been mining the Warner library for a series of salons hosted on the lot, they revealed in a recent cover story with Variety.
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