Why HBO's Next Move Is Critical

More than 50 years ago, HBO revolutionized television when it began to offer uncut movies, live boxing matches, concerts and comedy specials when you couldn’t watch those things anywhere but at a movie theater or in person. And slowly but surely, as video rental companies like Blockbuster began to compete with the network’s value proposition in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the company pivoted to investing in some of the most beloved original content of our time such as “The Sopranos” and “Sex and the City.” But it didn’t end there, the company has continued to produce award-winning content such a “Game of Thrones,” “Veep,” “The Last Of Us” and “Succession.” Despite establishing itself as the gold standard of storytelling, HBO has never operated as a stand-alone business, and has instead experienced numerous mergers and acquisitions, including the ill-fated AOL-Time Warner deal, known as one of the worst in American corporate history. Today, the company is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery but experts are predicting yet another transition is on the horizon.

Chapters
00:00 — 02:00 Intro
02:01 — 06:13 The rise of HBO
6:14 — 13:40 Original programming
13:41 — 18:20 HBO Max
18:21 — 22:18 Warner Bros. Discovery

Credits
Produced, Shot and Edited by: Darren Geeter
Animation: Jason Reginato
Senior Managing Producer: Tala Hadavi
Additional Reporting: Alexander Sherman
Additional Camera: Shawn Baldwin, Emily Lorsch, Jade Tungal

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Why HBO's Next Move is Critical

[quantran]

HBO is consistently delivering top-notch tv shows, shout out to their production.

[Re_RAM]

Clearly HBO's not the problem, it's all the corporate stunts at parent company level that keeps getting in the way.

[pagetwentyone]

HBO should be an independent company, with a single streaming platform

[Macxermillio]

HBO is just the best. When I see that logo at the beginning of a show, I just know it's going to be something different and good

[NightOwlTX]

Changing HBOMax to Max was definitely a step back

[gotbjosh]

Justice for Oz which really got people talking about HBO as the place to see some crazy tv. That daring show paved the way for HBO's mainstream hits that followed. Max sounds so generic and cheap. HBO is a distinctive, established brand known for delivering high quality, Emmy-winning content created by the best producers, writers, directors, actors, and artisans in the business. The reason HBO has survived multiple mergers and acquisitions is because it is treated as the jewel in the crown and is not to be messed with.

[crystanubis]

I think it's a mistake to drop HBO from the name, especially considering Max is probably going to make more people think of Cinemax. It's just haphazard rebranding.

[chrisaycock]

People know who HBO is I don't know why you would drop the name. You automatically associate HBO with higher quality programming.

[freeinghumanitynow]

HBO delivers artisanal content. What sets them apart from the so-called competition is their refusal to underestimate the viewer's intelligence. HBO is not tv; it is its own thing altogether and I would argue that the entertainment industry is (CREATIVELY) all the better for it. Changing the name would not be wise.

[samuelrodgers]

If Warner Bros Discovery was so concerned about having the HBO name tarnished, they could have just kept HBO Max and Discovery+ as separate services so that The White Lotus and The Last of Us is not mixed in with Discovery’s slop. Good HBO shows have been cancelled because of this merger when they didn’t need to be if the merger didn’t happen.

[musak.]

HBO Max should've maintained it's name for branding.
The hub section was more than enough. You could select HBO Original. DC. Ghibli. Etc. They should've added Discovery as another Hub.

[GeliCarlosJ]

So essentially HBO manages to still be great even with their parent company being historically terrible & confusing. 😂

[etc]

Richard Pleper seems like that kind of person you'd be lucky to work with and learn from. Lucky those who were able to be a part of it.

[Cyrus]

HBO was the channel I could not watch until I was 13

[iambrian]

An HBO intro has always been therapy so to speak because, as you heard that intro you would automatically be relaxed and knew you were going to watch something good. Its Not TV, Its Max...hmmm. Nope. Since we are paying, give us the name, HBO.

[robert]

Why is OZ constantly overlooked when original programming on HBO is discussed?

[MarconeRodrigues]

At the end of the day, HBO shouldn't be passed around by buyers, but actually be its own company. Too bad that would actually hurt the shows' budget... It's sad that everything is all about money

[hwaynes]

in the 70s, before names started using initials, HBO was Home Box Office and was great having movies to watch at any time.

[PaulMisner]

Surprised that Oz wasn't mentioned. The first drama on HBO.

[sactownism]

HBO MAX is by far my favorite streaming platform