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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

#101

Post by EpicEng »

tptacek wrote: post #97
EpicEng wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This post is completely subjective. It seems obvious that numerous people disagree on your assessment of quality. GoT "not especially good"? HBo doesn't have good comedy? Ever seen an episode of Curb? You then go on to base your conclusion on your subjective view of the quality of their shows. If anything, I'm inclined to believe the opposite of what you say given how many people would disagree with the basis of your…

My argument doesn't really depend on where you put Game of Thrones. It's clear to everyone that GoT is HBO's tentpole series; it's critically important to their service. It's not my argument that it's not valuable IP; it's the most valuable IP in television.

Your entire premise is based upon your perceived quality of HBO's programming.

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

#102

Post by sib »

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…

Here's the funny thing about content being "great" - it's a matter of opinion. I (personally) wouldn't put the Americans in my top 10 shows, or maybe even top 20, and at least 5 of those are from HBO. As opposed to Breaking Bad, which would be in my top 3 along with The Wire and something else which changes depending on the week and my mood.

Agreed the GoT is a lot of fun but not particularly "great" in the same way as others of these...

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

#103

Post by tptacek »

EpicEng wrote: post #101
tptacek wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My argument doesn't really depend on where you put Game of Thrones. It's clear to everyone that GoT is HBO's tentpole series; it's critically important to their service. It's not my argument that it's not valuable IP; it's the most valuable IP in television.

Your entire premise is based upon your perceived quality of HBO's programming.

No, it's not. My argument isn't "The Americans is better than GoT†". My argument is that critics (through reviews) and consumers (through ratings) no longer set HBO's shows apart into a prestige category that HBO dominates. That's an empirically verifiable fact.

† It is, though.

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

#104

Post by EpicEng »

tptacek wrote: post #103
EpicEng wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your entire premise is based upon your perceived quality of HBO's programming.

No, it's not. My argument isn't "The Americans is better than GoT†". My argument is that critics (through reviews) and consumers (through ratings) no longer set HBO's shows apart into a prestige category that HBO dominates. That's an empirically verifiable fact. † It is, though.

>My argument is that critics (through reviews) and consumers (through ratings) no longer set HBO's shows apart into a prestige category that HBO dominates. That's an empirically verifiable fact.

Based on... ?

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

#105

Post by tptacek »

EpicEng wrote: post #104
tptacek wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, it's not. My argument isn't "The Americans is better than GoT†". My argument is that critics (through reviews) and consumers (through ratings) no longer set HBO's shows apart into a prestige category that HBO dominates. That's an empirically verifiable fact. † It is, though.

>My argument is that critics (through reviews) and consumers (through ratings) no longer set HBO's shows apart into a prestige category that HBO dominates. That's an empirically verifiable fact. Based on... ?

Viewer ratings and sites like Metacritic? This isn't hard.

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

#106

Post by jjoonathan »

X-Istence wrote: post #72
jjoonathan wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That was an option last season too, but I think I had to have a unique, partnered, non-computer device on which to register the HBO Now account, and the process was broken on the one "acceptable" device I had. I don't remember what it was, but I do remember digging it out of storage and being terribly inconvenienced. In any case, after two thorough, time-consuming attempts I gave up and mooched of a friend who had re…

Creating a HBO Now account can be done through the web at https://hbonow.com/ You need a web browser.

In that case, I'm cautiously optimistic that they've reconsidered the nonsense!

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

#107

Post by __david__ »

rwc wrote: post #68
criddell wrote: post #4

If AT&T wants to drag anything out of the dark ages, I wish they would take a look at the DVRs they give to their customers. They are so slow and their user interface is atrocious. When our contract is up, we are going to try YouTube TV and Hulu to see if either of those is better.

The solution is DirecTV Now and, while far from perfect, is under very active development.

It's not really a solution. It has a terrible interface. Same with Playstation Vue and Hulu+Live TV. They're all geared towards people who turn on their tv and get blared at by whatever random channel it's tuned to. None of them comes close to what Tivo was doing 20 years ago where the menu of your currently recorded shows became front and center and live tv became a secondary concern.

Not to mention that several of those services have certain shows blacked out on their DVR service, and some even convert your recorded shows into on-demand versions which (or course) contain unskippable commercials.

When I cut the cord last summer it was extremely sobering realizing that all the fancy new internet tv services were so far behind my already long in the tooth Tivo.

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

#108

Post by pmart123 »

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…

Simply put, AT&T will drag HBO into the dark ages.

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

#109

Post by pmart123 »

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.

This is true if you want to be the biggest streaming service, but I don’t think it’s true for HBO.

One of the potential flaws in Netflix’s strategy is whether they will have to keep investing heavily in content in line with price increases.

The other, which I would not say is a flaw, but merely going to opposite direction by only producing a few, high quality shows is a differentiated offering from Netflix.

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

#110

Post by throwawaymath »

tptacek wrote: post #93
throwawaymath wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Eh what? Westworld is rated 86% on Rotten Tomatoes and 8.8/10 on IMDB. True Blood is rated 69% and 7.9/10 on the same platforms, respectively. Which ratings are you looking at? EDIT: I also checked Metacritic. True Blood is rated 68 on average across seven seasons, meanwhile Westworld is rated 75 on average across two seasons. If you take the Metacritic rating peak of Westworld (Season 1) and the Metacritic rating pe…

Ratings, as in, how many people watch the show. Obviously, Westworld is a better show than True Blood. But HBO needs people to want to watch it. On the metric that matters, True Blood was a more important show for HBO, and Westworld did not make up for it.

Ah, I see what you're saying.
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