HBO Articles

HBO, short for Home Box Office, is an American premium cable television network, owned by Time Warner. As of March 2011, HBO’s programming reaches 28.2 million subscribers in the United States, making it the second largest premium subscription channel in America (Encore’s programming reaches 32.9 million subscribers as of September 2011). In addition to its U.S. subscriber base, HBO also broadcasts in at least 151 countries worldwide.
HBO’s programming consists primarily of theatrically released motion pictures and original series, along with made-for-cable movies and documentaries, boxing matches, and occasional stand-up comedy and concert specials.
In 1965 Charles Dolan, who had already done pioneering work in the commercial use of cables, won a franchise to build a cable system in Lower Manhattan in New York. The new system, which Dolan called “Sterling Manhattan Cable”, became the first urban underground cable system in the United States. Rather than stringing cable on telephone…

The Original Content Wars Have Begun, But They're Bigger Than Hulu Vs. Netflix

For several years consumers have enjoyed streaming premium content services like Hulu, Amazon Prime, Netflix, and others. But as more and more television and film content moves online, the owners of the copyrights (typically studios or production companies) have started to see the potential in launching their own competing services--like Ultraviolet--and it threatens to end ...

The Weekly Online Video News Round Up - 2012 Edition

After a week or two off for the holidays, we're back with the first online video news round up of the new year. What were the biggest stories in video over the first week of 2012--what were you talking about? In our collection, we've got some exciting predictions for online video ad spend, a host ...

The First Original Netflix Series Will Be Lilyhammer, Not House Of Cards

Way back a long time ago--something around 9 months ago--we learned that Netflix had outbid everyone for the rights to a new series called House Of Cards. Starring Kevin Spacy, House Of Cards is an American remake of a successful British show. Nearly every major suitor was involved in the bidding--if HBO wants to buy ...

Time Warner and Cablevision Now Provide HBO GO

I find this incredibly interesting.  Time Warner owns HBO.  And yet, only now has Time Warner Cable decided to provide HBO GO.  Ah, details--Time Warner Cable doesn't have anything to do with the huge Time Warner media corporation anymore and that's why when Time Warner Cable negotiates with Time Warner it might as well be ...

HBO GO Another Maverick Success Story In Streaming

Some people may view the mobile and online app HBO GO as a good idea with limited appeal, which is fair, since not everyone can use it, even those who currently subscribe to HBO.  Some wish they could buy the app without needing a cable subscription.  There are plenty of criticisms of HBO's application, but ...

Netflix To Take A Loss In 2012, Which Should Be Good For Consumers

Wow, when it rains, it pours. After showing some seriously strong growth for years, Netflix, faltered with some bad business choices. They chased off hundreds of thousands of loyal customers, offered a flat, self-serving apology and lost a major chunk of their content. The culmination of all of this? They expect to post a loss ...

Starz After Netflix To Become TV Everywhere Option

As we all know by now, Starz and Netflix fell out and contract negotiations halted without a deal. Now, we know why as Starz has announced that they are working on their own TV everywhere authenticated product that will stream their content to any connected device.

Google TV Gets Massive Overhaul, Streamlined UI, More Content

It's been quiet for some time in the Google TV camp, however, yesterday they released the all new, fully updated version of the interface. In a blog post at the Google TV site they talked about all the new changes and features and what it means for consumers. So you read on, I'm going to order ...

The Roku LT Box With 720p, $50 Price Tag, Announces HBO Go

Roku just made two announcements today, the new Roku LT which is $10 cheaper than the Roku 2 HD, yet also offers 720p like that model. It seems more like a muddling of the market on their part than an actual addition to their lineup. They company also announced a deal to bring HBO Go ...

What Hollywood's Experiments With Online Streaming Movies Means For The Future

While everyone in the media been debating the many juicy storylines in online streaming services--such as the Netflix price hike and their new content licensing deals, or Hulu's possible sale to Google or other suitors and new ad formats like Ad Swap--and what these stories might mean for the future of premium online video content, ...

Major Microsoft Xbox TV Deals Imminent, But Still Will Need Something Unique

Bloomberg wrote up some thoughts on where it looks like the new Microsoft Xbox TV initiative is headed and I have to admit, I like what it looks like. Basically, it could position the Xbox 360 as the single piece of tech you need for all your video-based entertainment needs: gaming, DVD, cable TV. Well, ...

Ken Burns Documentary "Prohibition" To Debut On Apple Devices Before PBS Premiere

Ken Burns has been PBS' go-to documentary director since he unleashed the documentary mini-series Baseball way back in 1994.  Since then he's made similar series on jazz, national parks, and World War II.  So Burns is a name in which people are familiar, but that doesn't mean his documentaries can't benefit from the premiere of ...

Cable Companies Lose Customers To Online Video, But Cord Cutting Still A Long Way Off

Some reports say cord-cutting is a myth. Having recently moved into a place and assessed my options, I would agree, because the pay TV companies are keeping consumers hostage thanks to licenses with major sports leagues and premium channels like HBO. For example, the only way to get MLB baseball in Milwaukee, is to have ...

The Weekly Online Video News Round Up - Internet TV Edition

Another big week for major world news, as the UK riots took center stage for most of the week. It was a huge week for online video and online video news as well. Because we know many of you are even busier than us (if that's possible), we like to try and compile the biggest ...

iTunes Replay for Movies Held Up by HBO? No Studio Deals in Place Yet

iTunes Replay has been the target of several reports claiming that it will be delayed. Few have said much outside of the fact that the whole cloud-based movie and TV streaming service seems to hinge on contracts with the six large Hollywood studios. Well, it now seems that HBO, part of Time Warner, is what ...