August 2019 Cover

QUICK HITS: HBO - Reflecting on the Past and Present

Interview by Dan Sloat

HBO is a crown jewel of the $85.4B Time Warner acquisition as one of the most prolific and award-winning entertainment companies in America. Established in 1972, it is the oldest and longest continuously operating pay television service. With 140 million subscribers worldwide, it’s no surprise that the network just received a staggering 137 Emmy Award nominations for titles like Chernobyl, Barry, and of course, Game of Thrones. Back in Fall 2017, I flew up to New York City to meet with Michael Kopelman who was then the HBO Senior Vice President of Investor Relations. As a fellow University of Oklahoma alumnus, he agreed to set aside some time with me to both explore the possibility of an internship with HBO and discuss the pending Time Warner acquisition by AT&T.

Spoiler alert: I ended up accepting the LDP internship for the summer 2018 and eventually the full-time offer. Since then I’ve stayed in touch with Michael and followed up with him to hear more of his perspective on HBO. How can we at AT&T leverage the full creative potential of the new WarnerMedia? A. HBO’s success came from developing relationships and fostering an environment where creatives are free to do what they do best. B. Time Warner was a heavily decentralized and consensus-oriented organization that made a concerted effort to make people feel valued. C. Acquisitions will fail to reach their potential when distinct organizational cultures clash due to poor change management practices. Michael had 3 key insights to share:

According to John Stankey, CEO of WarnerMedia, “Our goal here is to create… a compelling product that gets customers to watch. That’s our job.” The truth is that the creative process that produces the caliber of premium content that HBO has built its reputation upon simply cannot be rushed.   Still, we need to find a way to strike a balance that honors the creative process while encouraging greater efficiencies. It’s safe to say that competition will be fierce with the likes of Disney+ and others set to open a new front in the modern era of streaming wars, and “HBO remaining HBO” will be essential to our long-term success through producing the coolest and most engaging content in the industry.