Peter Roth Becomes First-Ever Chairman of Warner Bros. Television Group

Peter Roth, who has been at Warner Bros. for the past 21 years, has signed a contract extension that will make him the first-ever chairman of the Warner Bros. Television Group.

Roth has served as president and chief content officer of the Warner Bros. Television Group since May 2013, having joined the company in March 1999 as president of Warner Bros. Television. He will continue to maintain leadership and creative responsibility for Warner Bros.’ television production activities, including domestic production of scripted, unscripted and alternative series for U.S. broadcast networks, cable and streaming services.

He continues to report to Ann Sarnoff, chair and CEO of Warner Bros. Roth will also continue to work closely with Jeffrey Schlesinger, president of Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution, who will continue to report to Sarnoff.

“Across the industry, Peter has the well-deserved reputation as a legend, and I have long been an admirer of his creative insight, deep relationships and unmatched passion for, and love of, all the people behind and in front of the camera, at the networks, and across the Studio who make Warner Bros. the most prolific TV producer in Hollywood,” said Sarnoff. “It’s fitting to recognize his many contributions to the company, and we’re grateful he will continue to lead our television production business as we expand our output to match the increased demand for programming by traditional and new outlets, including our own HBO Max.”

Roth and his team have led a transformation of the studio’s television operations, increasing the company’s series production output for premium and basic cable channels and expanding into producing series for the on-demand/streaming marketplace, while maintaining its position in supplying series to the broadcast networks. As of January 2020, the combined divisions of the Warner Bros. Television Group—including live-action scripted series, animation and unscripted and alternative programs—are producing more than 115 series in the U.S. alone.