HBO Now is a video-on-demand service operated by HBO, which is a premium cable and satellite television network in the US. HBO or Home Box Office is a division of US-based Time Warner Inc. The company offers services such as Cinemax On Demand, MAX GO, HBO GO, video-on-demand products HBO On Demand, multiplex channels, standalone premium streaming service – HD feeds – and HBO NOW. In addition, the company provides HBO branded television networks, accompanied by subscription video-on-demand products – HBO On Demand and HBO services, and HBO GO – to over 60 countries globally. Furthermore, the company has sold Cinemax and HBO programming in more than 150 countries. HBO Now is a domestic stand-alone OTT service that is distributed by digital distributors such as Google, Google, Roku, and Amazon, as well as by some affiliates.
Home Box Office, Inc. streams its data and programs on tablets, smartphones, computers, mobile devices, connected televisions, game consoles, and streaming players. The company provides premium pay and basic tier television, and video content services to its consumers. The company also sells its original programming to international television channels. The company also offers media, t-shirts, glasses, accessories, mugs, hoodies, collectibles, games, etc., on its online platform. Home Box Office, Inc. was founded in 1972, and Warner Communications LLC, which is a subsidiary of WarnerMedia, is the parent company of Home Box Office, Inc.
AT&T Inc. provides digital entertainment services and communications, and in 2017, the company acquired Time Warner – now known as WarnerMedia. This development was to bring key elements that define a modern media company. In 2018, the company announced that it would be launching a D2C streaming service that offers a new choice of entertainment, with the collection of WarnerMedia, which includes libraries, animation, documentaries, and films for global viewers by end of 2019. The company is also planning to improve its content, which will be shaped according to the preferences of customers and ongoing trends in the market currently.
Background History of the Company:
1877: The Bell Telephone Company was founded, and later evolved into the American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T), and was the world’s largest telephone company at that time
1984: The former AT&T was established to divest its local telephone operations; however, it retained its long-distance, R&D, and manufacturing arms from SBC Communications Inc., which was formerly known as Southwestern Bell Corp.
2005: SBC acquired AT&T Corp. and created the new AT&T, which is a communications company serving businesses globally
2006: The company acquired BellSouth and consolidated ownership of Cingular Wireless
2013: the company brought cricket to offer access to mobile Internet services to its customers in the growing prepaid market
2015: The company purchased two Mexican wireless companies namely, Lusacell and Nextel Mexico. The company also acquired DIRECTV and became the world’s largest pay-TV provider.
2018: The company completed the acquisition of Time Warner Inc., in order to bring together Warner Bros., HBO, and Turner, with the leadership of AT&T in technology and its video, mobile, and broadband customer relationships
Some Recent Milestones:
- In 2017, WarnerMedia won 37 Primetime Emmy Awards, which include 23 awards received by HBO. WarnerMedia also received 12 News and Documentary Emmy Awards, which include six awards for HBO. In 2017, all these businesses registered revenues of over US$ 31 Bn.
- According to a Bloomberg report in 2018, HBO has reached over five million online subscribers in the US. HBO also doubled its online subscriptions in the past year, by making its content available on DirectTV Now and Amazon
What’s new in 2018?
- In January 2018, Home Box Office won four Golden Globe Awards for Big Little Lie
- In 2018, Warner Bros. released several films based on DC Entertainment characters, including Aquaman and Teen Titans GO! to the Movies
- In 2018, Warner Bros. successfully released a slate of horror films and plans to release the next installment in The Conjuring franchise (The Nun)
- In 2018, Warner Bros. plans to release seven games
Upcoming Launches in 2019
- In 2018, AT&T Inc. announced that it would be launching a new direct-to-consumer streaming service 2019. The objective was to offer a compelling and competitive product that would serve as a complement to its existing businesses. This service will cost more than HBO Now and be competitive with Netflix.
- In January 2019, Warner Bros announced plans to launch Shazam!, a sequel to Wonder Woman movies
- In March 2019, HBO Now and HBO Go announced plans to release three documentaries including Leaving Neverland, which is the explosive Michael Jackson documentary that investigates fresh claims against the entertainer of sexual assault on minors. The documentary debuted its first two hours on March 3.
HBO Statistics: Fun facts
- As of December 2019, HBO including HBO NOW had 43 Million subscribers in the US.
- In May 2020, HBO MAX saw app downloads of 87,000 on its launch day
- HBO NOW has 8 Million paid users as of September 2019
- HBO was originally named the green channel
- In the 1970s, HBO initially distributed its signal via microwaves
- HBO provided programming for roughly nine hours of the day till 1981. In 1981, it offered a 24-hour schedule.
- HBO, after watching its pilot, before nearly scrapping the series Game of Thrones altogether, decided to re-shoot the episode, including a partial re-cast
- According to HBO, its subscription applies to the entire household. There is a limit on how many simultaneous streams, but the service’s support pages don’t specify the number. In theory, the customer should have no trouble watching HBO Now on multiple devices simultaneously.
- In the Mid-80s, HBO paid US$ 40 Mn for the right to air Ghostbusters
- In 1999, the HBO series – The Sopranos – which was the first cable drama television series, was nominated for a Best Drama Series Emmy. The hit show was nominated for 16 Emmys after its first season.
