The Face of H.B.O., Richard Plepler, Is Leaving After 27 Years and Scores of Emmys

His decision came eight months after AT&T acquired Time Warner, the network’s corporate home, in an $85.4 billion deal.Mr. Plepler found he had less autonomy after the merger, according to two people familiar with his thinking.HBO, under his watch, won more than 160 Emmys for series like “Game of Thrones,” “Big Little Lies” and “Veep.” From his office at the network’s Manhattan headquarters overlooking Bryant Park, Mr. Plepler, 60, had a strong hand in creating what is often referred to as television’s second golden age. Mr. Plepler is at ease working the room at a premiere party; Mr. Stankey, who recently moved from Dallas to New York, is a self-described “Bell head,” a term that refers to his three decades at the telecommunications company, which included a stint at Southwestern Bell.The two men started discussing the idea of bringing Mr. Plepler’s tenure to an end early in February, according to the two people familiar with the company’s plans.On Tuesday, the United States Court of Appeals rejected the government’s last-ditch attempt to break up the AT&T-Time Warner merger. His departure shows that AT&T is likely to be an active steward of Warner Media, one that did not hesitate to disrupt a network that is the division’s crown jewel.Mr. Plepler sent his memo to HBO employees hours before he was expected to preside over another premiere party — lavish affairs were an HBO hallmark during his tenure — for a new documentary, “The Inventor,” about the Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes.