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Casey Bloys Faces New Challenge Expanding HBO’s Mass Appeal
Casey Bloys has led HBO for many years and has stayed through two company mergers.
His company, Warner Bros.
Discovery, is now expected to combine with Paramount.
Bloys may become the leader of the new combined streaming business.
The new service could include HBO shows, Paramount+ programs, CBS shows, movies, sitcoms, and sports.
Some people worry that mixing these different kinds of shows could weaken HBO’s special identity.
Bloys says the HBO brand can stay strong while reaching more viewers.
He points to The Pitt as a show that attracted both regular HBO viewers and people who usually watched older library content.
His longtime colleagues are also expected to join him.
The merger is expected to close on October 6.
Casey Bloys is expected to lead the combined streaming operation after Paramount’s planned acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery closes.
Bloys and key HBO executives are expected to move to Paramount, following the departure of Paramount streaming chief Cindy Holland.
The merger would combine HBO’s prestige programming with Paramount+ originals, CBS shows, libraries, sitcoms, and sports content.
Bloys said HBO’s brand would be maintained while its programming expands to reach broader audiences.
He cited The Pitt as evidence that carefully selected mainstream programming can broaden HBO Max’s audience without changing its value proposition.
- Who
- Casey Bloys, HBO’s chairman and CEO of content, along with his senior HBO team and Paramount executives.
- What
- Bloys is expected to take a leading role in the combined streaming operation created by the Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger.
- Where
- The combined streaming operation would bring together HBO Max and Paramount+ programming.
- When
- The merger is expected to close October 6; Bloys discussed the plans at Bloomberg’s Screentime event.
- Why
- Paramount is seeking to combine two streaming businesses while preserving HBO’s strength and expanding its appeal to broader audiences.
Broader Streaming Appeal
HBO Brand Caution
Combining the platforms
Broader Streaming Appeal
Supporters of a broader service argue that HBO programming can coexist with Paramount+ originals, CBS shows, libraries, and sports to reach more viewers.
HBO Brand Caution
Bloys acknowledged that HBO and Paramount+ may have divergent customer bases and that not every content combination works.
Protecting HBO’s identity
Broader Streaming Appeal
Bloys believes the service can expand through carefully chosen shows such as The Pitt without radically changing its value proposition.
HBO Brand Caution
Critics of dilution would be concerned that adding higher-volume or more mainstream programming could weaken HBO’s premium identity, a concern reflected in Bloys’s earlier opposition to diluting the brand.
Key facts
- Executive
- Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO and HBO Max Content
- Expected transition
- Bloys and senior HBO executives are expected to move to Paramount
- Merger timing
- The Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger is expected to close October 6
- Current contract
- Bloys’s contract reportedly runs through 2027
- Streaming question
- HBO Max and Paramount+ could be bundled or merged
- Programming mix
- The combined offering could include prestige series, procedurals, sitcoms, libraries, originals, and UFC
- Example of expansion
- Bloys cited The Pitt as a successful effort to broaden HBO Max’s audience
Quotes
Casey Bloys
Chairman and CEO of HBO and HBO Max Content
“I would say a better experiment in terms of broadening out was what we did with The Pitt. That show has been so successful not only in the Emmys and not only in its performance but it has actually broadened out people on HBO Max who tend to watch the library movies or library series [and] are consumers of The Pitt, as well as some HBO subscribers. So you successfully broadened it out, and you haven’t radically changed the value proposition.”
deadline.com
“Back in the 2015 years, the idea that you would take HBO and add the Warner Bros. library was radical, it was ‘Oh my God, you’re going to have HBO next to Friends and Big Bang Theory and ER, how could you do that?’ A lot of hand wringing, and I would say that was a very successful broadening out of the service.”
deadline.com
Sources
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