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

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Re: AT&T Is Dragging HBO's Streaming Strategy Out of the Dark Ages

#41

Post by ghaff »

JustSomeNobody wrote: post #31
ghaff wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

WRT Netflix, their stated strategy was that their access to data was going to allow them to create superior content as demonstrated (at least for a time) by House of Cards.But it became evident pretty quickly that 1.) The beast needs to be fed with quantity as well as quality (as you say) and 2.) Quality TV/film isn't just an algorithmic exercise.

You can have the best 3 shows on any platform, but if all you have is 3 shows, people won't sign up or stay. Netflix had to invest in quantity side by side with quality because the content providers started taking their ball and going home.

If you have economical access to a bunch of OK mainstream content, it's reasonable to put all your wood behind just a few arrows. You won't get a big hit every time but you can increase your odds by lining up the right people and opening a fat checkbook. And those few hits may be enough to get people to renew.

But if your licensed content is mostly drek, you have to create filler content yourself, even if it's mostly just OK.

Re: AT&T Is Dragging HBO's Streaming Strategy Out of the Dark Ages

#42

Post by mbesto »

tptacek wrote: post #25
sharkweek wrote: post #3

My problem with this is as follows: HBO has led the way in making some of the highest quality television of the last 20 years. Competition has gotten stiffer, but I still view HBO as the premier place for TV (Sopranos, The Wire, Sex and the City, Curb, Veep, Leftovers, True Detective, Deadwood... and of course GoT, the list goes on and on). I would argue many of our favorite broadcast/cable shows would simply not exi…

We're in a golden age of television in part because everyone is producing high-quality shows. For every Deadwood, there's a Justified; True Detective, a Mindhunter. HBO has never been the best place for comedy series and, good as Crashing was, it remains an also-ran there as well. HBO's quality has been pretty far off its peak for awhile. GoT is a tentpole show with a rabid audience but it's not especially good (it's…

> GoT is a tentpole show with a rabid audience but it's not especially good (it's no The Wire). Deadwood and the Sopranos are from a different era of TV. Veep is great, but True Detective, True Blood, Boardwalk Empire, Enlightened, and The Newsroom would all be in the middle of the pack at Netflix.

As The Dude once said "Yeah, well, that's just, like, your opinion, man"

Objectively speaking, there isn't a single Netflix-original TV show rated over 9 on IMDB: https://www.justwatch.com/us/provider/netflix/tv-shows?ratin...

Compared to 7 titles on HBO: https://www.justwatch.com/us/provider/hbo-now/tv-shows?ratin...

But I think your point is that when we're talking about "The Wire" level production, others have caught up (AMC, FX, etc) and Netflix can simply license those titles. But, there's notable downsides to that (you have to wait, there's a significant cost to purchase, etc). Also, AMC, FX, etc have yet to establish a long-term credibility for consistently creating high quality content...until they do, HBO as the "premium offering" in light of others is still there.

At the end of the day we're talking about whether HBO's content can sustain the justification of paying $15/month. You just need rabid audiences for that to happen, not "one dude on the internet thinks The Wire is greatest thing ever created".

Re: AT&T Is Dragging HBO's Streaming Strategy Out of the Dark Ages

#43

Post by vlan0 »

sharkweek wrote: post #3

My problem with this is as follows: HBO has led the way in making some of the highest quality television of the last 20 years. Competition has gotten stiffer, but I still view HBO as the premier place for TV (Sopranos, The Wire, Sex and the City, Curb, Veep, Leftovers, True Detective, Deadwood... and of course GoT, the list goes on and on). I would argue many of our favorite broadcast/cable shows would simply not exi…

>This isn't about an outdated streaming strategy, HBO Go/Now are fine.

This has been my experience for anything that isn't live. I can never successfully watch a "live" episode of Vice without the stream degrading to potato quality at various times. But within minutes of the episode completing I can view that same content without any issue.

I can only speculate as to what their problems might be. But their live streaming experience is quite poor.

Re: AT&T Is Dragging HBO's Streaming Strategy Out of the Dark Ages

#45

Post by bobthepanda »

mr_tristan wrote: post #40
tptacek wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We're in a golden age of television in part because everyone is producing high-quality shows. For every Deadwood, there's a Justified; True Detective, a Mindhunter. HBO has never been the best place for comedy series and, good as Crashing was, it remains an also-ran there as well. HBO's quality has been pretty far off its peak for awhile. GoT is a tentpole show with a rabid audience but it's not especially good (it's…

I noticed something similar. HBO seems to have a "premium" brand mostly because it led the pack with their content before streaming, but that was a while ago. Given that I'm 41 years old, I remember the early shows that set HBO apart. But I'm not sure this holds for the 20 year olds and younger right now. It sure seems like HBO executives think they're a cut above, though: https://static1.businessinsider.com/att-ceo-…

The young people like Westworld. They may have duds, but their good exclusives are just that, good and exclusive.

So long as they have one above and beyond show every time they will be fine.

Re: AT&T Is Dragging HBO's Streaming Strategy Out of the Dark Ages

#46

Post by sharkweek »

mr_tristan wrote: post #40
tptacek wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We're in a golden age of television in part because everyone is producing high-quality shows. For every Deadwood, there's a Justified; True Detective, a Mindhunter. HBO has never been the best place for comedy series and, good as Crashing was, it remains an also-ran there as well. HBO's quality has been pretty far off its peak for awhile. GoT is a tentpole show with a rabid audience but it's not especially good (it's…

I noticed something similar. HBO seems to have a "premium" brand mostly because it led the pack with their content before streaming, but that was a while ago. Given that I'm 41 years old, I remember the early shows that set HBO apart. But I'm not sure this holds for the 20 year olds and younger right now. It sure seems like HBO executives think they're a cut above, though: https://static1.businessinsider.com/att-ceo-…

>and after that, I'd be curious if cancellations start to happen.

100% going to happen in the worst way and they know it.

Re: AT&T Is Dragging HBO's Streaming Strategy Out of the Dark Ages

#47

Post by stickfigure »

I subscribe to both Netflix and Hbonow.

Netflix always has something interesting, and a good discovery experience. Every show has a small trailer accessible with just a mouse hover. My wife and I don't watch a lot of casual TV, but when we're looking for a random show to unwind with, we fire up Netflix.

We subscribe to Hbonow when the Game of Thrones season starts, and cancel when it ends. It's not that there aren't other interesting shows (although the selection isn't huge), it's that the UX is so user-hostile it makes me angry to use it. Just continuing with the last show I watched requires multiple navigation steps - and sometimes searching. Shows often have minutes-long non-skippable trailers. Playback is slow to start. Discovery is nonexistent, unless you're counting those minutes-long masturbatory trailers that are clearly ads for HBO, not the shows.

Hbo needs more than just content, it needs to rethink the way it treats users. Right now it feels like going to a movie theatre where they force-feed you advertising for 30 minutes because "hey, captive audience".

Re: AT&T Is Dragging HBO's Streaming Strategy Out of the Dark Ages

#48

Post by trimbo »

tptacek wrote: post #25
sharkweek wrote: post #3

My problem with this is as follows: HBO has led the way in making some of the highest quality television of the last 20 years. Competition has gotten stiffer, but I still view HBO as the premier place for TV (Sopranos, The Wire, Sex and the City, Curb, Veep, Leftovers, True Detective, Deadwood... and of course GoT, the list goes on and on). I would argue many of our favorite broadcast/cable shows would simply not exi…

We're in a golden age of television in part because everyone is producing high-quality shows. For every Deadwood, there's a Justified; True Detective, a Mindhunter. HBO has never been the best place for comedy series and, good as Crashing was, it remains an also-ran there as well. HBO's quality has been pretty far off its peak for awhile. GoT is a tentpole show with a rabid audience but it's not especially good (it's…

> HBO has never been the best place for comedy series

Hey now! The Larry Sanders Show begs to differ.

... also Mr. Show.

Re: AT&T Is Dragging HBO's Streaming Strategy Out of the Dark Ages

#49

Post by mcculley »

smacktoward wrote: post #15

I personally have not found the UX of HBO's streaming offerings (I use HBO GO, primarily through an iPad and a PS4) to be appreciably worse than Netflix's. The apps load and are straightforward to find my way around in, I can always find the content I'm looking for, I've never had any technical issues prevent me from streaming that content. In some regards, I would even say their UX is better than Netflix's -- scroll…

I subscribe to HBO Now on an Apple TV. I really wish it could remember that I have enabled closed captions (I have a hearing impairment). Netflix does not seem to have trouble with persisting settings.

Re: AT&T Is Dragging HBO's Streaming Strategy Out of the Dark Ages

#50

Post by kharms »

tptacek wrote: post #25
sharkweek wrote: post #3

My problem with this is as follows: HBO has led the way in making some of the highest quality television of the last 20 years. Competition has gotten stiffer, but I still view HBO as the premier place for TV (Sopranos, The Wire, Sex and the City, Curb, Veep, Leftovers, True Detective, Deadwood... and of course GoT, the list goes on and on). I would argue many of our favorite broadcast/cable shows would simply not exi…

We're in a golden age of television in part because everyone is producing high-quality shows. For every Deadwood, there's a Justified; True Detective, a Mindhunter. HBO has never been the best place for comedy series and, good as Crashing was, it remains an also-ran there as well. HBO's quality has been pretty far off its peak for awhile. GoT is a tentpole show with a rabid audience but it's not especially good (it's…

>HBO has never been the best place for comedy series and, good as Crashing was, it remains an also-ran there as well.

That might be true in terms of popularity, but in terms of critical success Veep & Curb Your Enthusiasm were pretty dominant.

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