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Washington Post

HBO Targets a New Audience With ‘Millennial Missile’

Apr 27, 2015  •  Post A Comment

HBO boss Richard Plepler hinted that the pay cabler has been missing out when it comes to younger viewers, with the channel’s previous cable-subscription-only model. But The Washington Post reports that the channel’s CEO thinks that problem has been solved by HBO Now, the company’s new streaming service.

When Plepler and others were examining whether to make the move more than a year ago, they found that “HBO was missing out on nearly 10 million households that might want to watch the premium channel but did not subscribe to cable,” the paper reports. “They were mostly younger consumers — people who have never subscribed to cable.”

Said Plepler: “We waited for the time and place of our choosing to launch our streaming service.” The time came earlier this month, when HBO launched HBO Now in partnership with Apple and Cablevision.

“Plepler said that so far, HBO Now subscriptions have exceeded expectations,” the article reports. “He said the service is a ‘millennial missile’ for its appeal to younger consumers.”

Many observers believe HBO has some catching up to do in the streaming space, where services including Netflix, Hulu and Amazon have established a strong foothold — including with original programming. Additionally, concerns have been raised that streaming might cut into HBO’s own business from its traditional cable model. Plepler disagrees, the report notes.

Said Plepler: “This is a multilateral approach to creating new ways for different consumers to watch us. This is not a zero-sum game.”

Please click on the link near the top of this story to read the Post’s in-depth report.

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