Less And Less People Are Watching HBO

[DToTheJ]

The premium channel has lost one-and-a-half-million subscribers over the last year:
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/459360-HBO_Subscribers_Decline.php

HBO blames the economy, as well as the housing market affected by it. But mostly, they blame "free promotions" of the network on some providers.

Personally... I blame the fact that "The Sopranos" had the most horrible, inane ending of a television program ever... Some people still complain about it, to this day...

 

[fussbudget]

Maybe they should blame Netflix, Redbox, Itunes, etc. Nah, that would be logical and we can't have logical thinking.

 

[LKellerIII]

The premium channel has lost one-and-a-half-million subscribers over the last year:
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/459360-HBO_Subscribers_Decline.php

HBO blames the economy, as well as the housing market affected by it. But mostly, they blame "free promotions" of the network on some providers.

Personally... I blame the fact that "The Sopranos" had the most horrible, inane ending of a television program ever... Some people still complain about it, to this day...

No - that's giving The Sopranos ending too much credit. And frankly, many people would disagree with you about whether it was "inane," though certainly it was controversial.

Fussbudget is right - you no longer need HBO for new movies because renting has become so cheap and easy, courtesy of Netflix, RedBox, and digital Pay Per View on cable and satellite.

The second reason is - HBO has fallen down creatively on original dramatic series. They've had a few high-profile flops (John from Cincinatti was awful), and certainly nothing to equal the hit-power of Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Deadwood, etc.

Third reason - they have more competition for orignal dramatic series; from Showtime, and particularly basic cable. Some of the best series are coming out of AMC and FX, for example.

Fourth reason - even if you like HBO's new series (Boardwalk Empire is excellent), you can wait a few months and rent them on DVD - a lot cheaper in the long run than paying HBO's monthly fee.

 

[landtuna]

I eagerly signed up for HBO when cable came to my neighborhood in the early 80's and did watch it religiously for a few years. Then they began getting into boxing and other shows I wasn't watching and pretty soon I wasn't watching at all. My family had never watched it so it went away never to return.

The vast majority of movies being made today do not entice me to subscribe to any movie service. If I could choose just one it would be TCM.

 

[Markxxx]

It's a service that has become outdated. I mean when OTA subscription TV stations like ON-TV and Spectrum went away because cities became cable ready, those stations switched over to Spanish or other formats. They didn't whine about how unfair it was.

I guess the people who manufacture rotary telephones also went through this. Technology changes, if you can't change or produce a product that no longer has value, you go out of business.

It's hardly shocking news. HBO should not even be putting out press releases saying WHY it happened. Everyone knows why, should I tell the cat? 'Cause the cat's gonna get it.

HBO should be putting out press releases on it's new programming to draw viewers in, that no longer need the old worn out, outdated format

And it's not just HBO, a lot of businesses have this issue

 

[LKellerIII]

Mark - I don't see anything in the article to indicate HBO is "whining" about it - they're just reporting facts. Corporations and publicly traded companies are supposed to do that.

I remember reading a few years ago that many people subscribe and un-subscribe to premium cable based on what's airing. So some people drop their subscription when a show they like has ended their season, they re-subscribe the following year, and so on.

Given that HBO has not come up with very many "must see" original series lately, it's no wonder that they're down.

 

[K6JHU]

My system gives me 5 HBO channels. The problem is that HBO only seems to have four programs. In addition the variety of other services available (as posted above) it is the continuos repeats of the same four programs over and over and over on all of their channels that has made me no longer interested in paying for HBO.

 

[DToTheJ]

I eagerly signed up for HBO when cable came to my neighborhood in the early 80's and did watch it religiously for a few years. Then they began getting into boxing and other shows I wasn't watching and pretty soon I wasn't watching at all...

In other words, more non-movie elements were being added to make it feel less like a "home box office."

 

[Yeziknoradio]

All around HBO sucks.
Here in Canada, HBO second run programming ends up on Showcase channel anyway.
(Showcase is available on basic cable in Canada, and was intended to be the Canadian version of Showtime...at one point it was, but not on basic cable.)

 

[desertv]

My system gives me 5 HBO channels. The problem is that HBO only seems to have four programs. In addition the variety of other services available (as posted above) it is the continuos repeats of the same four programs over and over and over on all of their channels that has made me no longer interested in paying for HBO.

3 of which are Bill Mahr

 

[FreddyE1977]

let's face it, the economy is quite bad, and premium television channels are
an obvious place to cut in the family budget.

 

[searadiofreak]

I remember in 1978 or so, HBO and ESPN were two pioneers in cable programming. They were part of my cable lineup at the time, but I don't remember paying a "premium" for them. Can anyone fill me in? Was HBO originally part of basic cable?

 

[Yeziknoradio]

let's face it, the economy is quite bad, and premium television channels are
an obvious place to cut in the family budget.

I'm not sure how it's being done in the States, but in Canada, when you agree to a full year of service, HBO is greatly reduced. The cut would have to be right at the end of a contract.

 

[radiolives]

Of the 3 major movie channels whats the most popular one? HBO, Showtime, or Cinemax?

 

[DToTheJ]

Gun to my head, Ken, I would guess that HBO still has the name recognition thing going for them that would help them lead the other premium channels in that category.

I remember in 1978 or so, HBO and ESPN were two pioneers in cable programming... I don't remember paying a "premium" for them. Can anyone fill me in? Was HBO originally part of basic cable?

As far as I can tell, it's always been a subscriber-based channel.

 

[quadraphonic]

I remember in 1978 or so, HBO and ESPN were two pioneers in cable programming. They were part of my cable lineup at the time, but I don't remember paying a "premium" for them. Can anyone fill me in? Was HBO originally part of basic cable?

Back when my grandparents first had cable in the late 70s, there wasn't really "premium" and "basic," everything was just available in one package, and everybody was charged the same thing. The cable company just absorbed whatever subscriber fees out of the whole cost, which was like $45 a month back in the 70s [kinda high to me].
Then they started breaking it down into different packages because different people wanted different channels and to pay different prices.
Maybe that's what it was like back then in your area?

 

[ansky212]

Of the 3 major movie channels whats the most popular one? HBO, Showtime, or Cinemax?

My guess would be HBO, with Showtime a close 2nd, and Cinemax a distant 3rd. Most of the movies on Cinemax are the same movies that HBO airs, just at different times. But Cinemax doesn't air any series like Entourage or Boardwalk Empire. The biggest problem with all these "premium" channels is the constant repetition of movies, sometimes multiple times per day. Why pay 15 or 20 bucks a month to see the same movie over and over when there are better, cheaper options out there.
I know with Verizon, they are constantly offering a 3 Free Months deal with HBO and Cinemax. So basically you can cancel right before the 3 months is up and then wait a few days and get another free 3 months. From what I've read there are a lot of people that do this. My Verizon package includes Showtime for free, and I almost never watch it.

 

[DToTheJ]

And since Cinemax is a sister station of HBO, and as ansky mentioned above, doesn't offer any original programming outside of those "softcore" programs that run late at night, shouldn't the question be, "Which is more popular, HBO or Showtime?"

 

[LKellerIII]

I remember in 1978 or so, HBO and ESPN were two pioneers in cable programming. They were part of my cable lineup at the time, but I don't remember paying a "premium" for them. Can anyone fill me in? Was HBO originally part of basic cable?

HBO was always a "premium" channel, requiring an additional fee, though it could have been included in a package deal from your cable company.

In the 70s, I had Viacom cable, and my "package" included Showtime for a few additional dollars per month. Viacom Corp started Showtime as their answer to HBO. It broadcast only movies - "uninterrupted, uncut and uncensored" was the draw.

This was a few years before the advent of VCRs and video rental stores. So if you wanted to see uncut movies outside a theater, HBO or Showtime were the only choices. And those 2 premium channels got the movies months before they appeared on network TV, which of course, included censorship and commercials. Most cable companies offered either HBO or Showtime, but not both.

Viacom didn't even provide a regular cable box where I lived. For regular broadcast TV, we only got the 12 cable channels assigned to 2 thru 13 on the dial that came with the TV. You accessed Showtime through a set-top box with 2 buttons. If I remember correctly, they offered programming for only about 8 hours a day at first - late afternoon to about midnight.

Viacom sent out a small brochure every month with the cable bill, that contained all the listings for that month.

 

[DToTheJ]

... Was HBO originally part of basic cable?

HBO was always a "premium" channel, requiring an additional fee, though it could have been included in a package deal from your cable company...

Thanks for the confirmation. Although, not to split hairs or anything, but the "premium" buzzword didn't rear its ugly head until the 90's; prior to then, such networks were listed strictly as "pay-tv" channels in the TV Guide... you know, back when they used to carry program listings...