HBO will be honored as the Company of Distinction at the upcoming 37th edition of the Banff World Media Festival.
Chairman and CEO Richard Plepler, as previously announced, will give the Company of Distinction keynote on June 14. Plepler will be interviewed by Ben Mulroney, host of Etalk on Canada's CTV. HBO’s president of programming, Michael Lombardo, will join Damon Lindelof, co-creator/showrunner of HBO’s The Leftovers, for a special Fireside Chat on June 13. Lombardo will also be on hand at BANFF’s Rockie Awards Gala on June 14 to accept the company honor on behalf of HBO.
The Company of Distinction program started in 2013 and has so far feted CBS, Lionsgate and A+E Networks.
The Banff festival, held in a picturesque resort town in the Canadian Rockies, has a global scope but also a mission to promote Canadia's achievements in screen media. In the case of HBO, Bell Media delivers current-season, past-season, and library HBO programming exclusively on its pay television networks HBO Canada and Super Écran, and video-streaming platform CraveTV. Bell Media and HBO are also partners in an original production development program, with the goal of co-producing premium, made-in-Canada content for the world stage.Bell Media is a Grand Patron of the Banff festival.
