HBO

HBO (pronounced [ HSBC ]) is a WarnerMedia division since 1990 that broadcasts on two television networks: HBO and Cinemax. The audience of HBO in the USA is more than 40 million subscribers. In addition to broadcasting, HBO also offers custom-made video and other media services. HBO divisions and joint ventures with its participation broadcast in more than 50 countries. Broadcasts produced by HBO (mainly television series ) have been purchased in more than 150 countries ^[1] .

In 1965, Charles Dolan founded Sterling Information Services (better known as Sterling Manhattan Cable). The company received the right to build a cable television network in the Lower Manhattan area in New York. It became the first urban underground cable television network in the United States. In the same year, 20 percent of the company's assets were acquired by Time-Life Corporation (now Time Warner ). In the first six years, Sterling Manhattan Cable incurred permanent losses, primarily because of the cost of laying cables, which reached 300 thousand dollars per mile, and a limited subscriber base, which by 1971 was only 400 subscribers. By September 1973, Time-Life Corporation would completely buy out the company and rename it Manhattan Cable Television (now telecommunications company Time Warner Cable).

Design and launch of the Home Box Office channel

Trying to make Sterling Manhattan Cable profitable, in 1971 Charles Dolan came up with the idea of ​​a paid cable channel called The Green Channel. Dolan presented his idea to the management of Time-Life. Although satellite distribution seemed only a distant opportunity at the time, he convinced Time-Life to support it. To assess whether consumers would be interested in signing up for pay-TV services, Time-Life conducted research in six US cities. The vast majority of respondents opposed the idea. Later, Time-Life conducted a test among residents of the city of Allentown (Pennsylvania) in which it introduced a new concept of a paid channel, offering free service for the first month and refunding the installation fee. Half of the respondents in the test expressed interest in acquiring such a service. At a meeting with Dolan and Time-Life executives, names for the new service were discussed. Ultimately, they settled on the name “Home Box Office,” although the name was originally working.

Home Box Office began broadcasting November 8, 1972 in Wilkes-Barre, PA. The launch of the Home Box Office channel went unnoticed in the press, as neither local nor national media were invited to the ceremony. In addition, the city manager of Wilkes-Barre City declined the offer to attend the launch ceremony. The first program that the new channel showed was the film “Sometimes a Great Notion” featuring Paul Newman. The show was held for the first 325 subscribers of the channel (a memorial plaque was installed on the square in the center of Wilkes-Barre in memory of this event). Immediately after the film, the channel showed its first sporting event: a game between the New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks at Madison Square Garden. In February 1973, the channel first showed its television program, which temporarily interrupted scheduled shows for this time frame, the Pennsylvania Polka Festival. By September 1973, the number of Home Box Office subscribers was 8,000 in 14 cable systems, all located in Pennsylvania. Two years after the start of broadcasting of the new channel, HBO acquired 30 thousand subscribers ^[2] . By April 1975, the channel already totaled about 100,000 subscribers in the states of Pennsylvania and New York.

National Extension

In 1974, Time-Life executives approved a plan to use geostationary communications satellites to transmit Home Box Office to cable providers throughout the United States. On September 30, 1975, the Home Box Office began satellite broadcasting , becoming the first television channel to provide satellite signals. The first program was The Thrilla in Manila , a boxing match between Mohammed Ali and Joe Fraser. With the help of satellite, the channel began to transmit a separate program for the Eastern and Pacific time zones. The channel broadcast its programs for only nine hours every day, from 15:00 to 0:00 in the morning for the first nine years. By 1980, the channel was broadcast in all 50 US states. Home Box Office became a television network on August 1, 1980, when the second channel called Cinemax was launched, and the Home Box Office channel itself became known as HBO. The channel first started working around the clock on weekends in September 1981, December 28, 1981 - the channel finally switched to round-the-clock broadcasting. On May 22, 1983, the channel showed its first original film, The Terry Fox Story, the first film ever made for pay television. In the same year, the premiere of the first Fraggle Rock HBO children's program took place. In January 1986, HBO became the first satellite paid channel to encrypt its signal from unauthorized viewing. John R. MacDougle from the city of Ocala (Florida) in protest on April 27, 1986, at exactly 0:32 New York time in one of the New York suburbs, interrupted the broadcast of the channel (showing the film "Agent Falcon and the Snowman") strange circulation (vertically colored stripes and text) under the pseudonym “Captain Midnight”. The “air invasion” lasted 4-5 minutes, after which the air resumed. In 1988, the IEE subscriber base expanded significantly due to a strike by the Screenwriters Guild of America. On January 2, 1989, the Home Box Office launches the Spanish Selections from HBO and Cinemax channel in Spanish. Taking advantage of the success of Home Box Office, Time-Life merged the network with Warner Communications. In 1991, the Home Box Office and Cinemax networks became the first Premium Services to offer multiplexed channels to customers; HBO2 , HBO3, and Cinemax 2 channels were launched. In 1993, the Home Box Office became the first digital broadcast television service in the world, the step was successful, which leads to the launch of additional channels of both services - HBO Family and four channels of the Cinemax network: WMax (now MovieMax), Max (now MaxLatino), OuterMax and 5StarMax.

In the 1990s, the Home Box Office began to actively produce its original programs. In 1999, Home Box Office was the first to launch High Definition (HDTV) channels. In July 2001, HBO on Demand was launched, a new channel allows the client to select and watch any program at any time.

February 18, 2010 launched the HBO Go Internet service. Content on HBO Go includes released films, as well as original programs, films, comedies, documentary events, and the Home Box Office sports network.

On April 7, 2015, HBO Now was launched for users of personal computers, smartphones, tablet devices and digital media players. In contrast, HBO Go does not require a television subscription to use and is available only to customers in the United States.

Channel List

Home Box Office offers 8 channels for its subscribers in the United States (seven channels broadcast simultaneously both in standard definition and in high definition, except for HBO On Demand).

Since 1991, HBO has been actively promoting its products in other countries.

HBO Canada

Earned October 30, 2008. It broadcasts simultaneously both in standard definition and in high definition. Broadcast 2 different channels. One is owned by The Movie Network (owned distribution rights in Eastern Canada), the other is Movie Central (Western Canada). HBO Canada On Demand (launched October 30, 2008) is available to subscribers of both The Movie Network and Movie Central. HBO Go is available only to subscribers of The Movie Network (Movie Central provides services through TV Everywhere). It displays the original HBO programs (as well as Cinemax), as well as Canadian programs, the rights to broadcast in Canada belong to The Movie Network and Movie Central. Several HBO sports programs do not show, it is due to the fact that the Home Box Office does not have international distribution rights.

Australia

HBO has a contract to distribute its products in Australia with Showcase (owned by Foxtel).

New Zealand

HBO signed a contract to distribute its products in the country with the Sky Movies television network (owned by Sky Network Television).

HBO Brazil

The first channel began broadcasting on July 1, 1994. Now broadcast channels HBO, HBO2, HBO Plus, HBO Family, HBO Signature and HBO HD. Distribution rights are held by the HBO Latin America Group (a subsidiary of Time Warner).

HBO Caribbean

Broadcasts HBO products to the Caribbean.

HBO Asia

It broadcasts HBO products to countries in the Asian region (Philippines, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, South Korea , Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam). Shows channels HBO, HBO Hits, HBO Family, HBO Signature, HBO On Demand and HBO HD.

Sky atlantic

HBO signed a contract to distribute its products with the British company Sky PLC (Sky Atlantic TV channel) in the UK, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Ireland and Italy.

HBO Netherlands

A joint venture of Time Warner and Ziggo (cable television operator in the Netherlands). Shows channels HBO, HBO2, HBO3 and HBO On Demand. HBO GO is also available to subscribers.

France

HBO signed a contract to distribute its products in France with OCS (a subsidiary of Orange SA) through the OCS City television channel.

HBO Europa

It broadcasts HBO products to countries: Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Moldova, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. Shows the HBO, HBO2, HBO3, HBO Comedy, HBO On Demand, HBO HD and HBO HD2 TV channels (some channels are available only to some of the countries listed, except for the HBO channel, which is available in all countries).

HBO Portugal

Started its work on September 1, 2015. Shows channels HBO, HBO2, HBO Plus, HBO Family, HBO Signature and HBO On Demand.

HBO Nordic

It broadcasts HBO products to countries: Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland.

HBO Baltics

It distributes HBO products in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. Available in interactive and cable television networks, on mobile devices, as well as in smart television. Premiere episodes are available in Latvia no later than 24 hours after their release in the USA.

Russian Federation

In 2012, there were rumors about the launch of a channel on the territory of the Russian Federation ^[3] , but a year later, Amedia became a partner of HBO, broadcasting the products of the American television network on the cable channels Amedia-1 and Amedia Premium (initially only for HBO content ) and in the online service Amediateka ^[4] . August 23, 2017 Amediateka became Home Of HBO

Among HBO products, television series are the most famous. Many of them became winners of television awards and received praise from critics. So, Time magazine writes that “HBO specializes in smart, risky series that look at the dark side of American reality” ^[5] .

Some of the television series produced by HBO:

Ended

• " Tales from the crypt "
• " Great love "
• Brothers in Arms (mini-series)
• “ In Search ”
• Vinyl
• " Girls "
• " John Adams " (mini-series)
• Deadwood
• " Stallion "
• " Life and Adventures of Tim " (animated series)
• Game of Thrones
• " How to succeed in America "
• " Carnival "
• " Clan Soprano "
• “ The customer is always dead ”
• " Beauties "
• Mildred Pierce (mini-series)
• " Real blood "
• " News "
• " One Night " (mini-series)
• " Left "
• " Underground Empire "
• “ Generation of killers ” (mini-series)
• " Wiretap "
• " Rome "
• " Sex and the City "
• " Deadly Bored "
• Pacific Ocean (mini-series)
• Prison of Oz
• " Good luck "
• Chernobyl (mini-series)

Going on

• Barry
• " Big Little Lie " (mini-series)
• " Vice President "
• " Two "
• " Players "
• " Buzz with delivery "
• Room 104
• Silicon Valley
• " World of the Wild West "
• " Young Dad "
• " My brilliant friend "
• The Heirs
• " True Detective "
• " Divorce "

HBO is one of the two largest television channels organizing and broadcasting boxing . HBO's main competitor is Showtime .

HBO team - telecom commentators Larry Merchant (from the middle of 2007 on half fights Max Kellerman instead) and Jim Lampley, unofficial judge Harold Lederman (before working on Lederman TV channel, he was an official judge of boxing fights), as well as one invited expert (most often now) late trainer Emanuel Steward , former undisputed heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis and former undisputed light heavyweight champion Roy Jones ). As a rule, the well-known herald Michael Buffer , who invariably pronounces his patented phrase “Let's get ready to rumble!” (Let's get ready for a fight!), Acts as a ringannoner in fights organized by HBO.

Since the 1990s, top fights began to be broadcast on the pay-TV channel TVKO. In the 2000s, the paid version of HBO changed its name to HBO PPV - Pay-per-view . Fights for beginner boxers broadcast version of HBO BAD - Boxing After Dark (“Boxing at night”).

The channel has personal contracts with successful boxers such as Floyd Mayweather , Oscar De La Hoya , Gennady Golovkin , Lennox Lewis and others.

In the late 1980s, Mike Tyson had a contract with HBO. In 1991, Tyson did not like the criticism of Larry Merchant . He delivered an ultimatum to the leadership of the TV channel: “Either the Merchant, or me.” Management has chosen Merchant. Tyson left HBO on Showtime.

It is very difficult to arrange fights between boxers who have a personal contract with different TV channels. За всю историю бокса было только два случая, когда такие поединки были организованы — Леннокс Льюис против Майка Тайсона в 2002 и Флойд Мейвезер против Мэнни Пакьяо в 2015 году.

Константин Цзю не смог встретиться с рядом достойных соперников, так как имел контрактные обязательства с Showtime, в то время как большая часть серьёзных оппонентов его весовой категории были подписаны на HBO.

Наиболее известные поединки, организованные телеканалом HBO: Флойд Мейвезер — Оскар Де Ла Хойя, Флойд Мейвезер — Заб Джуда , Бернард Хопкинс — Рональд «Уинки» Райт , Бернард Хопкинс — Оскар Де Ла Хойя, Рой Джонс — Бернард Хопкинс.

• Official website