Winter is coming to HBO.
The pay-TV home of “Game of Thrones” is preparing to slash 150 jobs, or about 7 percent of its workforce, as part of parent Time Warner’s plan to trim costs companywide.
While Turner Broadcasting and Warner Bros. have already announced significant layoffs, few expected the ax to fall on Time Warner’s “crown jewel.”
With hits like “Game of Thrones” and “True Detective,” HBO gets the royal treatment from pay-TV operators that hand over rich sums to carry its original programming. HBO is expected to hit up them up for more money in the next round of negotiations.
Revenue at HBO rose 4 percent, to $4.9 billion, in 2103, while adjusted operating income hit $1.7 billion, an 8 percent increase.
But HBO is preparing for tougher times — or, as the Stark clan would say in its popular fantasy series, “Winter is coming.”
HBO foresees a time when Internet-delivered options replace traditional cable TV. In a radical change, CEO Richard Plepler plans to launch a stand-alone HBO streaming service next year that doesn’t require a cable subscription.
“We reviewed 2015 budgets and staffing plans with this in mind and reduced cost and redundancy whereever possible to preserve our ability to invest in our future,” Plepler wrote in a memo announcing the division’s first major layoffs in a decade. “This will unfortunately include the elimination of some positions.”
HBO staffers will learn their fate this week when the pink slips fly.
The looming cuts, first reported by Variety, are part of Time Warner’s plan to shed 2,600 jobs, or about 10 percent of its workforce.
The media giant is under pressure to cut costs and boost growth after spurning an $85-a-share offer from 21st Century Fox. (Fox Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch is also executive chairman of News Corp., which owns The Post.)
Time Warner shares were up 0.3 percent at $79.51 in afternoon trading on Tuesday.