AT&T is going to destroy HBO

squawker

One of the highlighted quotes :eek:


"In a mobile environment, a 60-minute episode might not be the best experience. Maybe you want a 20-minute episode."


https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/07/att-wants-to-overhaul-hbo-says-it-isnt-profitable-enough/?amp=1

pixelburp

Instead of showing full-length episodes on all devices, it might be best to "curate the content uniquely for a mobile environment."

FFS. I'm going to go ahead and speculate this idea wasn't run past anyone before being added.

And the same article mentions HBO made $6 billion in profit over the last 3 years. 6 billion! Yet it's not enough?

Loughc

squawker wrote: »

One of the highlighted quotes :eek:


"In a mobile environment, a 60-minute episode might not be the best experience. Maybe you want a 20-minute episode."


https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/07/att-wants-to-overhaul-hbo-says-it-isnt-profitable-enough/?amp=1

That quote is out of context. He said not all devices need to show a full 60 minute episode. Smartphones can show condense 20 minute episodes and iPads, laptops and smart TVs show the full episodes.

NFL gamepass are trying something similar this year. As much as we hate to admit it, the moment is in advertising and smart phones are the best environment to attract views, clicks and ads.

squawker

Loughc wrote: »

That quote is out of context. He said not all devices need to show a full 60 minute episode

here is the full quote

"Think about things like Game of Thrones," AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said at a telecom conference in May 2017. "In a mobile environment, a 60-minute episode might not be the best experience. Maybe you want a 20-minute episode." Instead of showing full-length episodes on all devices, it might be best to "curate the content uniquely for a mobile environment."


I don't think anything was taken out of context there, he even mentions GoT

pixelburp

Loughc wrote: »

That quote is out of context. He said not all devices need to show a full 60 minute episode. Smartphones can show condense 20 minute episodes and iPads, laptops and smart TVs show the full episodes.

NFL gamepass are trying something similar this year. As much as we hate to admit it, the moment is in advertising and smart phones are the best environment to attract views, clicks and ads.

I don't think you can compare a stop-start sports game like America football, or any sports match for that matter, with a scripted narrative that's fundamentally structured within its running time, script etc. The highs and lows of sports lend themselves to highlight packages, doing the same for TV dramas is asinine. This feels similar to the current obsession with certain news oitlets pivoting to video, grasping for a market that doesn't necessarily want what's being offered.

fritzelly

Who wants to watch shows like GoT on a smartphone?!?! Grand for passing time on some things but some shows deserve a 50" viewing.

squawker

fritzelly wrote: »

Who wants to watch shows like GoT on a smartphone?!?! Grand for passing time on some things but some shows deserve a 50" viewing.

I have watched lots of shows on my phone, with two small kids the only place I got to watch shows was on the bus into work and back

think I did two seasons of GoT on my Note 4 (hold it close enough to your face and its like a 50" screen)

Believe it or not I could actually use the pause button so no need for an AT&T exec to condense my experience

Loughc

squawker wrote: »

here is the full quote

"Think about things like Game of Thrones," AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said at a telecom conference in May 2017. "In a mobile environment, a 60-minute episode might not be the best experience. Maybe you want a 20-minute episode." Instead of showing full-length episodes on all devices, it might be best to "curate the content uniquely for a mobile environment."


I don't think anything was taken out of context there, he even mentions GoT

Your original quote implies that tv shows will no longer be 60 mins they’ll be just 20 minutes on HBO.

But the reality is they’ll prob stream down episodes into bite size episodes on just mobile devises which won’t affect the majority of HBO subscribers who won’t be watching HBO content on a smartphone.

brevity

Talk about not understanding the product and an awful way to introduce yourself.

I can see Netflix/Amazon/Apple/Disney poaching some of HBO'S staff.

J. Marston

I was sad about GoT finishing. Now I'm happy.

God help the prequel though. That's gonna be chopped and Poochie-ed.

S.M.B.

Seems absurd to edit a 60 minute show down to 20 minutes for an optimised mobile experience. Surely if you want to compete on that channel you should create content specifically designed for viewing on that size screen. Why spend all that $ on GoT when you can't see where the money has gone.

But luckily they are just suggesting alternative cuts as opposed to replacing traditional long term story telling with bite size editions.

It's not going to have any impact on my consumption of HBO shows for the short to medium term but it's not a great message to be sending out.

Unearthly

I want HBO to drop entire seasons in 1 go. The 1 episode a week is an outdated model. Yes some people might prefer that but they have the option of sticking to 1 a week if they choose.

Launch it for final game of thrones season without prior warning and watch the internet meltdown

the whole year inn

Unearthly wrote: »

I want HBO to drop entire seasons in 1 go. The 1 episode a week is an outdated model. Yes some people might prefer that but they have the option of sticking to 1 a week if they choose.

Launch it for final game of thrones season without prior warning and watch the internet meltdown

Haha yeah that's true .Be like a billion people torrenting 30 gigs at the same time