On June 19, former AT&T executive and new chief executive of Warner Media John Stankey spoke to a group of HBO employees about changes coming to the premium cable company in the near future. The discussion was held in the wake of AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner, which owns HBO, and also included HBO's chief executive officer Richard Plepler.

The telecommunications company previously stated that it would take a "hands-off approach" to running HBO, but The New York Times this weekend reported on Stankey's speech and it sounds like that might not be the case. According to a video of the discussion, Stankey explained Warner Media's intent to align HBO more alongside streaming companies like Netflix in order to increase its subscriber base, although he refrained from referencing Netflix by name.

HBO GO iphone x
This means creating more content that releases at a faster pace, in comparison to HBO's current stable of limited Sunday night-focused shows. According to Stankey, the goal is to increase the hours per day viewers watch HBO, which is currently less than rivals like Netflix and Hulu because of HBO's smaller catalog.

“We need hours a day,” Mr. Stankey said, referring to the time viewers spend watching HBO programs. “It’s not hours a week, and it’s not hours a month. We need hours a day. You are competing with devices that sit in people’s hands that capture their attention every 15 minutes.”

Continuing this thread, Stankey specifically stated that more hours of user engagement means that Warner Media can "get more data and information" to monetize through advertisements and new subscription options.

“I want more hours of engagement. Why are more hours of engagement important? Because you get more data and information about a customer that then allows you to do things like monetize through alternate models of advertising as well as subscriptions, which I think is very important to play in tomorrow’s world.”

As the discussion continued, Stankey appeared to have butted heads slightly with Plepler on the topic of HBO's monetization, which Stankey believes can be increased through his new methods. Plepler claimed that the company is already a consistent moneymaker, to which Stankey responded: "Yes, yes you do... Just not enough."

Stankey and Warner Media hope that an increased output of original content will boost HBO's 40 million paid subscribers in the United States, which Stankey said as of now "was not going to cut it." Comparatively, Netflix earlier this year had 55 million U.S. subscribers and Hulu in May had 20 million.

HBO's business currently expands across paid cable add-on packages, the connected HBO GO app, and standalone HBO NOW app. Stankey said that Warner Media's plans will kick off soon and "there's going to be more work" for HBO employees over the next twelve months, which he called a "dog year."

While Apple wasn't mentioned in the discussion, the Cupertino company is another upcoming competitor in the streaming TV market, with plans to debut more than a dozen television shows beginning sometime in 2019. Although the distribution of these shows remains unclear, the company is rumored to be planning a bundle with original TV content, Apple Music, and more.

Top Rated Comments

iLilana Avatar
86 months ago
This is the point HBO is going to be run by wall street oligarchs. It may as well have been taken over by EA. Sure it will keep going but content will begin to suck consistently. John Oliver will for sure be cancelled. and most importantly AT&T became Delos by saying "I want more hours of engagement. Why are more hours of engagement important? Because you get more data and information about a customer that then allows you to do things like monetize through alternate models of advertising as well as subscriptions, which I think is very important to play in tomorrow's world."
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
redscull Avatar
86 months ago
If HBO tries to be a competitor to Netflix, I will evaluate it on the same merits as Netflix, and probably dump it in favor of Netflix. While it remains supplemental to Netflix, it actually has value to me. I doubt AT&T's greed is going to pan out here.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
S.B.G Avatar
86 months ago
I fear for the quality of content that will end up coming from HBO now. I love the network as it is for the most part. AT&T is probably going mess it all up now. This Stankey guy, based on the quotes in the article sounds like a real jerk to me.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MhzDoesMatter Avatar
86 months ago
Yeah, this will probably suck. HBO seems like the TV equivalent of "A Thousand No's." There's no way they can become a content farm and not lower their standards. Netflix has a lot of junk and niche content. No one wants a cooking show about Pinterest fails from HBO.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mrow Avatar
86 months ago
So basically these moron telecom executives with no experience in content are about to ruin HBO.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
S.B.G Avatar
86 months ago
Lots of people with no experience offering their opinions on something they're in no way qualified to speak on in here. Pretty funny.
Should everyone remain silent on the subject then?
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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