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Many (most) HBO shows do not live up to The Sopranos, and FWIW I completely agree with your assessment of Westworld, but I also agree with GP - part of the pitc

Many (most) HBO shows do not live up to The Sopranos, and FWIW I completely agree with your assessment of Westworld, but I also agree with GP - part of the pitch of HBOGO, and then Max, is access to the whole back catalog of HBO. The Sopranos, yes, but also John From Cincinnati and a host of other ambitious also-rans. HBO isn't selling off Westworld because it's bad, they're selling it off because their penny pinching CEO doesn't understand what made HBO worth the subscription in the first place.

labrador 4y ago
He has the numbers though. He can see if hardly anyone is watching Westworld on HBO and calculate he could make more money by selling it and then using that money to create something people do want to watch. As for harming the brand, I know what HBO used to be but don't know if it's that anymore. I don't know anything about calculating a brand image or how much it's worth, so I couldn't say in a landscape of thousands of competing outlets
- magicalist 4y ago
  > He has the numbers though. He thinks he has the numbers. He could also raise the subscription price and make more money that way too, if most people stick around. Do that enough and they won't, though.
  - emodendroket 4y ago
    Maybe I'm wrong, but my impression from the sudden change of fortune of all these movie and television streaming services is, maybe making really good content doesn't really make the business model work. Maybe it only really works if you're churning out low-budget, mindless trash reality TV. Though it is less clear if that was understood at front and this was a way of growing the subscriber base or if there was more optimism that was warranted.
    - brewdad 4y ago
      Ok. But why ditch the shows you've already paid to produce? Maybe the future cash flows are greater by taking the cash today but that's a hell of a wager to place on the future. My annual sub renews in 12 days. I will probably re-up for one more year but only because I can get a significant discount through my credit card. Will I, and others, re-up in for 2024? I am very uncertain.
      - oneoff786 4y ago
        If you’re going to buy it this year I would expect a pretty low bar for you to buy it next year
      - emodendroket 4y ago
        The answer seems to be they don’t want to pay residuals.

labrador 4y ago

He has the numbers though. He can see if hardly anyone is watching Westworld on HBO and calculate he could make more money by selling it and then using that money to create something people do want to watch. As for harming the brand, I know what HBO used to be but don't know if it's that anymore. I don't know anything about calculating a brand image or how much it's worth, so I couldn't say in a landscape of thousands of competing outlets

magicalist 4y ago
> He has the numbers though. He thinks he has the numbers. He could also raise the subscription price and make more money that way too, if most people stick around. Do that enough and they won't, though.
- emodendroket 4y ago
  Maybe I'm wrong, but my impression from the sudden change of fortune of all these movie and television streaming services is, maybe making really good content doesn't really make the business model work. Maybe it only really works if you're churning out low-budget, mindless trash reality TV. Though it is less clear if that was understood at front and this was a way of growing the subscriber base or if there was more optimism that was warranted.
  - brewdad 4y ago
    Ok. But why ditch the shows you've already paid to produce? Maybe the future cash flows are greater by taking the cash today but that's a hell of a wager to place on the future. My annual sub renews in 12 days. I will probably re-up for one more year but only because I can get a significant discount through my credit card. Will I, and others, re-up in for 2024? I am very uncertain.
    - oneoff786 4y ago
      If you’re going to buy it this year I would expect a pretty low bar for you to buy it next year
    - emodendroket 4y ago
      The answer seems to be they don’t want to pay residuals.