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Stankey is a corporate drone who wouldn't know good television content if it slathered all over his irritating bald head. Having experienced him turn Directv into a shell of its former self, I shudder to think what his "minutes per day" strategy will do to the quality of HBO shows. There's a reason why people associate HBO with high quality content, because they focus on taking the time to make it that way. Just like there used to be a reason why people associated Directv with higher quality video.

TLDR: HBO is about to turn stanky.
 
Lots of people with no experience offering their opinions on something they're in no way qualified to speak on in here. Pretty funny.

Do tell us oh mighty one, who are the qualified ones? Will you list the necessary qualifications to comment on such an entertainment niche?
 
Lots of people with no experience offering their opinions on something they're in no way qualified to speak on in here. Pretty funny.

So in other words, the internet.


Ok Nailed It is pretty good... lol

But would it be when everyone is murdered in Episode 7 by a misshapen AI fondant dragon?

Wait... that does sound good.
 
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He so Stankey..
[doublepost=1531159645][/doublepost]Looks like there is some video of the speech Mr. STANKey's gave to his new found employees.

 
This doesn't bode well for HBO. They are a premium service with premium content. This sounds like ATT could do real damage to their brand. Further, I'm a firm believer that creators should be paid for their content but if HBO is going to start monetizing my viewing data I'll still subscribe but I will torrent everything on their service so I can watch without being tracked. That's just ridiculous.
 
AT&T is correct about one thing... HBO does leave a lot of money in the table by being a “Sunday night only” network.

They have consistently let Netflix steal content from them such as House of Cards and Orange is the New Black. Hulu also is snapping up high quality content. HBO needs to up their game because when Game of Thrones ends, they will have nothing.
 
People who watch less cost more in bandwidth?

No, your logic is sound. (Less streaming costs HBO less.) It's just a very small part of what is "good" for HBO's bottom line. (Going forward, probably even less so considering much of the bandwidth will be provided by sister companies.) Ultimately, AT&T wants revenue growth, not cost savings. So they're more than willing to have more expensive customers if that's what it takes to have more revenue growth. He's essentially signaled that AT&T is interested in selling data and they're willing to turn HBO into YouTube Premium to get it.
 
HBO has done well in the “quality over quantity” department, at least until recently. Westworld doesn’t cut it as a GoT replacement for me and there’s not enough left to justify a monthly subscription fee. Taking a Netflix approach won’t help because that means quantity over quality and (imo) Netflix quality sucks.

!00% agree. Adam Sandler, anyone? :eek: Overall, it sounds like the GOT final season better get released soon, before the AT&T bean counters screw it up.
 
AT&T can already track what we do with their internet, Direct TV, and mobile data... how much more customer data do they actually need, and what more info will HBO give them on their customers... at what point does data just become redondant and useless?
 
Lots of people with no experience offering their opinions on something they're in no way qualified to speak on in here. Pretty funny.
Flip the script.
It could be also said you’re not qualified to make the above statement, especially with nothing to back it up.
Pretty funny.
 
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Wow, Stankey starting his new gig as head of Warner Media on a broken promise sounds like an auspicious start. If he said he’d be hands off, he should be hands off. I’m curious how much an exec from AT&T even knows about content, but it sounds like he’s super bottom-line focused, which is probably making the employees at HBO cringe. I know it’s making me nervous.

Pound for pound HBO has easily been the best network in America for a long time. I know Apple doesn’t typically buy long established companies, but I kinda wish they’d bought HBO just so no one else would screw it up.

Don’t mess with my HBO, Stankey!
 
My updated position on all the media, meet my needs or get cancelled. Absolutely No loyality to anyone of them. Moving my viewing to fall and winter months, binge watch, cancel. So it appears I will not fit into John Stankey’s plan at all. :D
 
Speaking of HBO, telecoms are Walder Frey. They simply control the path. We seriously need an Aria Stark to slash their throats.

Hit em in the only place that hurts - the pocketbook. Cancel your subscriptions now. Demand Net Neutrality. Quit showing your eyeballs to their ads. Otherwise, it’ll be garbage at any price they want to charge.
 
AT&T should really just leave HBO and try to turn their own channel, Audience, into their own Netflix.
 
Welp. Looks like I'm gonna have to say goodbye to HBO Canada soon; who knows before AT&T believes Canada isn't worth it anymore (though I hope I'm wrong about this).
 
Having experienced him turn Directv into a shell of its former self

DirecTV used to be heads above all other services with their customer support. Since the takeover you call them and the service reps are totally unfamiliar with the equipment. They sent out a service crew when all that needed to be done was plug in a power cord for an obscure little box which was hidden behind the TV. You try to record new episodes on a series and the default is to record across all channels, including on demand. I end up having to delete hundreds of unwanted shows. The workaround doesn't always work.

AT&T crippled grandfather plans. New features such as tethering were only available on current plans to force customers to give up their grandfathered ones. They kept raising their rates. The first thing they did after the takeover was to raise administrative fees.

"AT&T's live TV streaming service DirecTV Now will increase the price of every subscription tier by $5 per month beginning sometime around August 1, 2018. AT&T confirmed the price hike to CordCutters, stating that the move was made to ensure that the cost of DirecTV Now remains "in line with the market."

"in line with the market". That makes me happy, knowing that I get to pay the same rate as other services.


From the NY Times article:

"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.”

Since they clearly don't care about quality based upon how they treat their customers, this does not bode well. All they care about is money.
 
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Rip HBO.

I’m just happy GoT will be finished before AT&T has a chance to destroy it.

I’m just glad Netflix is independent and continues to invest heavily in quality content. It’s the only service I’m interested in.
That is how I feel, but then I realize that I also watch "The Silicon Valley". Oh well, once GOT is done, I will reevaluate the need for HBO.
 
Just like many people already have, I received my DirecTV Now email advising me of the price hike. I signed up on day 1 of DTN for the Go Big package at $35 . I guess I was mistaken when I thought that price was locked in for as long as I was a customer and didn't change my package.

What else can AT&T raise the price on for its customers?
 
So basically these moron telecom executives with no experience in content are about to ruin HBO.

“Yes, you make money but I need more.” Just another myopic executive who doesn’t understand the product or why people buy it trying to make his mark. How many hit shows has HBO launched? They own some of the most critically acclaimed content ever produced.
 
That is how I feel, but then I realize that I also watch "The Silicon Valley". Oh well, once GOT is done, I will reevaluate the need for HBO.

One thing I enjoy about streaming services is the ease of being able to sign up and quit on a month to month basis.

Means I can just sign up for a month to watch something I really want to see then quit and save money.
My parents pay for a 4k Netflix account and happily share it with my wife and I - they barely use it anyway. So really I don't pay for any streaming services and recently cancelled Amazon Prime as I don't really need the fast shipping and Prime Video is OK but nothing special.

Hook up an antenna + Youtube + (free) Netflix = all the content I could want at zero cost.

I don't even watch much TV at all and I absolutely 100% refuse to watch advertising. I'll sign up to HBO for GoT then quit once its done.

I do have Spotify but even then that's basically free as I share a family account with people. The thought of spending hundreds of £/$ on cable or satellite TV seems bizarre to me.
 
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