There are many reason that AT&T ’s unification with Time Warner presented the clearpossibilityof harming consumers . Somewhere on the list is the possibility of turn the cautiously curated , profitable , and beloved HBO into a grown - data monstrosity like Netflix . To hear AT&T ’s administrator in charge of the cable channel tell it , that ’s exactly what ’s plan for the time to come .
Last month , AT&T won itslegal battlewith the Department of Justice and promptlycompletedits $ 85 billion accomplishment of Time Warner . It ’s now the proud owner of DC Comics , CNN , and many other popular media dimension . HBO is one of the most prestigious and successful facets of the division that has now been renamed asWarnerMedia — entrust it to corporate America to look at something that works well and forthwith decide it needs to alter . TheNew York Timeshas reportedly obtained audio recording of a late conversation between HBO ’s longtime CEO , Richard Pepler , and his new boss , John Stankey , that was in private conducted for employees of the internet — it is equal parts uncomfortable and ominous .
It was only a few week ago that Stankey was painting a picture of AT&T taking ahands - offapproach to HBO , but behind closed in doors , he ’s ringing alarm bells that the company take to catch up with the ‘ give anything at the wall ’ approach of Netflix . Stankey warned employee that “ it ’s operate to be a ruffianly year , ” as AT&T retools as operation . Plepler , meanwhile , tried to maintain a cheery disposition and pushback on some of the more unsettling remark his boss made .
Part of AT&T ’s argumentation for the merger was it require more content to vie with the rising giants of streaming . HBO manages tohold its ownpretty well in the telecasting streaming marketplace despite having a wildly different approach shot than rival like Netflix and Prime Video . The 45 - twelvemonth - old web sticks with what works : sustain a rotate library of feature film offerings and mostly focusing on get high - quality message for its big Sunday night consultation . For Stankey , that idea is dead . It ’s not enough to make money anymore , greedy executives demand “ engagement . ” From the Times account :
“ We need hour a 24-hour interval , ” Mr. Stankey said , name to the time viewers expend learn HBO programme . “ It ’s not time of day a hebdomad , and it ’s not time of day a calendar month . We need hours a day . You are contend with devices that model in people ’s hands that capture their attending every 15 min . ”
Continuing the theme , he add : “ I want more 60 minutes of engagement . Why are more hours of engagement important ? Because you get more data and information about a customer that then allow you to do things like monetize through alternate models of advertising as well as subscription , which I imagine is very important to dally in tomorrow ’s world . ”
One can imagine Pepler grinning and nod as he think about the record - setting issue of Emmys HBO has won and the huge lucre it pulls in while Stankey says that the web needs “ more depth . ” And just as a vein on Pepler ’s forehead threatens to set off , Stankey says something any web White House likes to take heed : “ I do believe there needs to be stepped - up investiture . ”
More money to make quality television sound great , but then Stankey made it clear that there ’s no amount of profit that will ever be enough . This exchange is heartbreaking :
“ Also , ” Mr. Stankey said , “ we ’ve get to make money at the end of the mean solar day , right ? ”
“ We do that , ” Mr. Plepler responded , to scatter clapping .
“ Yes , you do , ” Mr. Stankey read . “ Just not enough . ”
“ Oh , now , now , be careful , ” Mr. Plepler enounce .
You see , despite HBO turning a $ 2 billion yearly budget into $ 6 billion in profits , it ’s competing with Netflix , a company that project to pass $ 2 billion on selling alone this year and move at a loss . Hulu , another direct competition , managedto lose close to a billion dollar last year . And in Stankey ’s maniac mind , HBO must be more like these losers .
And the fact is , Stankey probably has a peak . When you dwell in a arrangement in which venture capitalist economy and public investment push a caller to bolt up the mart until all competitors are vanquish without compliments for lucre , this is the mindset we end up with . In what sane world does a man say “ 35 to 40 percent ” market penetration just is n’t enough and that the definition of success is strapping as many eyeballs to a service for as many hour of the day as potential ? No sane world , but this is Stankey ’s world . It ’s one in which consumer preferences must be chopped and jazz into dateless charts that are monetized across dateless platform . And hey , if some people like the show with the dragons , that ’s ok , too .
Netflix has made some highly praised and popular shows with its data - driven approach to programming , but if its name was ever mechanically associated with quality original mental object , that sentence is over . The streaming service does enjoy areputationfor gift artist a lot of exemption after it ’s data point modeling comminute the numbers and decides the right keywords are all present in a pitch . It also has a repute for make a lot of bullshit .
So many appearance on HBO would n’t get the slightest bit of interest , much less mainstream winner if they did n’t let in the HBO brand . the great unwashed know that they ’re run to get something worthwhile — mayhap even star — when they catch HBO . Stankey recognize this , and he says its now time to “ visualise out how to expound the aperture of it without losing the timbre . ” alas , that ’s like saying it ’s now sentence to hold the laws of gravitational force . A profit - driven creative approaching will push away the good artist that work in the waste industry of boob tube . And the even if some dumbfound around , there are n’t enough of them to fill out every moment of the day .
The U.S. regulative environment has allowed this growth - at - all - costs posture to flourish , and it ’s not enough to make money hand over clenched fist while pleasing millions of people . No ship’s company is allowed to just win , everyone else has to recede . alas , devotee of HBO might be a casualty in that battle . In central , we can look ahead to the connection ’s iconic static logo appearing before a reboot of Charles in Charge .
[ New York Times ]
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