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State of the Screens

AT&T Is Dragging HBO’s Streaming Strategy Out of the Dark Ages

By March 12, 2019No Comments
Wow: HBO considered buying Netflix back in 2007, but the price tag of ≈ $1.5B was thought to be too high!

PSA: Netlix is currently worth $157B.

Quote from Michael Gabriel — Former CIO @ HBO:
“There was a belief that Netflix was going to implode…either due to the escalating costs with their model or due to content no longer being licensed to them.”

Early to the game: HBO actually launched it’s streaming product in beta one year prior to the 2007 launch of streaming for Netflix. HBO Go became available to all HBO subscribers in 2010 and was followed by a version for non-pay TV subscribers (HBO Now) in 2015.

U.S. Subscribers:
1)
Netflix — 58M
2)
HBO Now — 8M

Global subscribers:
1)
Netflix — 139M
2)
HBO — 130M

Quote from Robert Greenblatt — Chairman of Entertainment @ AT&T’s Warner Media:
“Netflix doesn’t have a brand. It’s just a place you go to get anything — it’s like Encyclopedia Britannica…That’s a great business model when you’re trying to reach as many people on the planet as you can.”

The new team @ AT&T’s Warner Media:

The new media portfolio @ AT&T’s Warner Media:

Video: WarnerMedia announces restructuring in wake of AT&T takeover

More #1: Reviewing AT&T’s Reorganization of WarnerMedia

More #2: AT&T’s WarnerMedia shakeup tells you how it views the future of media

More #3: 50 Questions For AT&T

Michael Beach

Michael Beach is the Chief Executive Officer of Cross Screen Media, a media analytics and software company that enables marketers to plan, activate, and measure CTV and linear TV at the local level. Michael is also the founder and editor of State of the Screens, a weekly newsletter focused on video advertising that is a must-read for thought leaders in the advertising industry. He has appeared in such publications as PBS Frontline, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Axios, CNBC and Bloomberg, and on NPR’s Planet Money podcast.