Former HBO exec Lombardo appointed global TV president at eOne

Hasbro-owned producer and distributor Entertainment One (eOne) has confirmed that former HBO programming president Michael Lombardo has been appointed to head its international TV division.

News of Lombardo’s appointment emerged last month, with the veteran exec now formally named as president of global TV at eOne, with a remit across development and production of all scripted and unscripted programming.

He moves into a similar position as former head of TV Mark Gordon, who stepped down in July last year to return to producing.

EOne has become the entertainment arm of Hasbro and Lombardo will be responsible for creating content from its brands such as Dungeons & Dragons, Power Rangers and Transformers.

Lombardo stepped down at HBO in 2016 following a 33-year stint at the premium cabler, had been programming president for almost a decade with a tenure that yielded hits including Game Of Thrones, True Blood and Girls for HBO. He left to take on a producer deal in 2016, with Casey Bloys taking on his HBO remit, before joining Peter Berg’s Film 44.

He initially eOne as a consultant overseeing development across all genres.

Steve Bertram, eOne’s president of film & TV, said: “His incredibly impressive history of success during his long tenure at HBO resulted in some of the most ground-breaking, iconic television series over the past two decades. A true champion of creative excellence, Michael is the ideal leader to guide our television strategy at a time where audiences are demanding content of the highest quality.”

Power Rangers owner Hasbro completed its $3.8bn deal (£2.9bn) to acquire eOne, the company behind kids behemoth Peppa Pig and dramas such as The Rookie, earlier this year.