• by Alex Weprin , November 26, 2018

As WarnerMedia prepares to launch its division-wide over-the-top streaming video service next year, the company has named Brand Bentley to lead the service.

Bentley, a 18-year DirecTV veteran who had been overseeing the DirecTV Now streaming bundle, will now be executive vice president-GM of direct-to-consumer development for WarnerMedia. He will report to WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey, overseeing the development and launch of the streaming service, which is scheduled for late 2019.

Stankey wrote in a memo to staff that Bentley’s experience launching DirecTV Now would provide valuable experience ahead of WarnerMedia’s own OTT launch.

DirecTV and WarnerMedia are both owned by telecom giant AT&T.

In addition, WarnerMedia says Turner CTO Jeremy Legg will add control over HBO’s technology operations.

Legg’s new responsibilities “allows us to execute decisively to align on target platforms and coordinate the resources across these organizations that represent components of a unified direct-to-consumer technology platform,” Stankey wrote in a memo to staff Monday

WarnerMedia has been reorganizing its streaming efforts ahead of the launch next year. The company has shut down under-performing niche streaming services. It is said to be investing more in HBO and its HBO Now streaming offering.

The streaming service expected to launch next year will be built off of HBO, using that content and content from elsewhere in the Warner Bros. and Turner portfolio to create a compelling offering.