How WarnerMedia Built HBO Max

government aerospace and medical research projects. Available now on Apple Podcasts and all other platforms. Welcome to Strictly Business Varieties, weekly podcast featuring conversations with industry leaders about the business of media and entertainment. I'm Cynthia Littleton, business editor for Variety Today. My guest is Bob Greenblatt, chairman of Warner Media Entertainment and Direct to Consumer. Greenblatt has a long resume in the television business. He's known for turning around

the fortunes of Showtime and NBC. Since March of last year, he's been the executive leading the charge behind HBO Max, the streaming service from Warner Media that makes its debut today it's a four billion dollar bet for a T and T that's streaming is the future profit engine for its media businesses. Greenblatton I spoke on May eleventh, is the two week countdown to launch began. Hello Bob, good to see you again. Thanks for taking time out to join us my pleasure. You're two weeks and three days

from launch. Yeah, counting right, HBO Max you might have heard something about it. Tell us kind of at this stage, where are you in terms of putting final bells and whistles? Are you looking at programming? What? What kind of stuff are you doing as the two week countdown begins? Well, honestly, we're in the final stages on everything relating to the platform, the app, the content, and you know, once we get to May, which is the launch date, it won't be

really the end of the process. It really is just the beginning. But I will say, um, in these last eight weeks we've been doing all of this largely from home, and it's quite remarkable the degree to which everyone has been able to deliver um. But the you know, the technology, the platform, everything has uh you know, an up to the last deadline sort of delivery on it. So everyone's working away around the clock, putting a finishing touches on

original content, look at everything. But you know, we're in really really good shape. I know that you've been test driving this, test driving HBO Max with internal users. What what kind of feedback have you gotten? Yes, I mean this is a process. When you take something like this to market, you really want to show it to you know, certain groups of people internally, and you know, we call that the beta phase and really just tested. A lot

of the bugs will present themselves in the technology. Those will get worked out. But it's really exciting to actually see it up and running. Something that has been on a drawing board for you know, so long. You actually get to see with it and and see it and play with it. And uh, it's not all in there yet because as I said, everything is being delivered, you know, right up for the last minute. But we've gotten great,

great feedback, um, some really good constructive comments from people. Um. And you know, again the tech teams have just been so on it in terms of making sure this platform runs seamlessly. And I mean that's what you know the customer expects. Are there elements to the navigation or to the interface that you think are going to wow people. Can you give us any flavor of what that's gonna

look like? You know, we will have UM I think just overall, it looks beautiful and it will run, you know, perfectly. There are some things we've talked about over the last few months that some will be available at day one, some will be rolled out in the months thereafter. But we're gonna do some some interesting curation UM down the road.

What what you will see at launch are UM something we call programming hubs content hubs, which I think is new UM in the world of streaming platforms, and that is, once you scroll down beyond some of the top carousels, you will see groupings of programs of programming according to their brands. For instance, you know there'll be a big

HBO hubs. So when you go on to the HBO Max platform, which has HBO as well as so much more, you could just roll right down to the HBO hub, you hit that button and then you are immediately into sort of an HBO created world. But there will be other brands that you can do that with as well, UM, such as UM you know, adult swim Turner, classic movies, UM, anime, different different kinds of programming and I think that's unique UM. And you know, we're just trying to find new ways

for people to UM navigate through a platform. I think we're all frustrated to some degree with the volume of these platforms, and you know, you can scroll this way, that way, up and down and be frustrated at not finding something unless you search for it. UM. And we're trying to do some things organizationally which I think will make a difference. And you know, there's a lot more to talk about there, but I really look forward to

you experiencing it for the first time. And you know you'll see care cells where we group friends episodes according to certain you know, funny and interesting sort of themes, and lots of really fun curation things which we're excited about. I know from talking to you and your team that curation, curation,

curation is such a big part of that. Is some of that in response to what we're hearing from the industry about feeling like some service, some of the larger services can just be like a warehouse where it's not is conducive for people to you know, people to find find their shows, yes, and you know it's not really for me to denigrate any of the existing services, because we all use them and enjoy them, um, but we really uh, you know thematically for this this new product,

we wanted to go with the basic sort of underlying principles of what HBO is, and an HBO we know is not only high quality, but it's one of the

best curated systems in the world. Right. They don't make hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of original shows, UM, but the shows they make are really at the highest quality, and so you come to expect that you go to HBO, even if it's not your personal taste, you're going to see nothing but high level quality program So in that way, we're trying to curate that throughout the entire platform UM and all the new Max originals, and even the library content.

You know, we have thousands of hours of movies from the great Warner Brothers film library and television shows UM as well. And yet we didn't put everything in we could have, but we decided to really go through those libraries and eliminate a lot of the stuff that we knew you would never want to watch. So overall, I think, you know, one of the distinguishing factors of our platform. Is that we're really trying to make it, you know.

Rated I know the word is overused, but I haven't done a better one yet, But we really are, you know, trying to adhere to that. UM. Let me ask a specific question on HBO when you go to HBO Max on the HBO hub, when you pull that up, will it look like what HBO now looks like? Will it be? Will you go to that? It will be it? Will it be a different environment for HBO that we've seen before?

Good question. It's a it's a different environment because it's it's along the lines of what the new HBO Max app is overall, which visually is is more arresting and different than what the current HBO Now service is. UM. Also, in HBO Now, I think, you know, programming is mostly organized alphabetically. You know, we've built off the Now platform technically, and we have extertise with the Now product that's been in the market for the last you know, four or

five years. UM. But it was a simpler product, right and and didn't scale in terms of users, So there were things that we just never did. UM. Those are all now going to be available in hbox. And when you go into the HBO Hub. There is so much more to be offered UM in the hub itself. Do you feel any new programming venture, especially on this scale with this company is going to be very high stakes? Does it feel more so because the HBO brand is imbued in this product. Yes, I mean anything you bring

to market in this space is high stakes. I mean, we just uh Disney transform their entire company to bring you know, plus to market and what a stunning success that is. UM. So Yes, the stakes are really high. And we knew that HBO, being fundamental to the platform UM, was gonna keep the stakes really high for us as well. UM. And yet we also knew that that brand means something to the audience not only here domestically, but around the world.

And we felt that, UM, we wanted to assign ourselves the task of any of the programming that we add to this service, to this to this platform alongside the HBO service has got to be at that kind of quality level. And as I said, the libraries have the high quality. Whatever we are acquiring, UM, the doctor Who Library,

you know, UM, the Studio Ghibli Library. I mean, we're really trying to go for things that are of the highest quality Sesame Street, which was also in HBO originally but kind of an island in in that you know, in that service, UM really bringing back to the four and you know, Sesame Street is arguably one of the greatest brands for children and educational television. So we tasked ourselves with UM rising to the level of HBO for

anything that's in the service. Of course that's going to be subjective to a certain degree, but we really are serious about putting this out as the highest quality service that you know, a platform that you can get and I know you have. The company has stated a goal excuse me, of fifty million domestic subscribers by I know. Part of the impetus for all of this has been to grow to give the mothership HBO a bigger platform.

Do you feel that you know that the rising tide year is going to lift all boats that HBO Max will be a very nice engine for Warner Media and a very nice engine for HBO, which has been despite the digital gains, it has been relatively stagnanted around thirty three million subscribers for the last you know, five to eight years. I believe, yes, I think you've put your

finger on it exactly right. Um, HBO is a phenomenal product, but um, there's a ceiling to it, and as you said, it's sort of been at that ceiling for a few years as the rest of the world has gone much

more aggressively to these larger streaming platforms. And so I think not only will we be able to bring all of the Warner Media assets together in this platform, um, but one of the benefits of doing it, if we if we do it correctly, is HBO, the great HBO service, which is now fifty years old, right, will be exposed to many, many more people. UM, some of whom you know probably think HBO is not for me. You know, it's the programming is mostly adult programming. You know, it's

a certain kind of uh programming. They don't do much reality shows, much on scripted outside from you documentaries, So there are things not in HBO that people you know, I thought, well, it's not for me. I hope we can expose a lot of those people to this product. I mean this this service by virtue of it being part of the overall platform, and then you know, all the content will be there together and and I hope will increase the you know, the the exposure for for

HBO in general. UM, I know, obviously you must be somewhat disappointed. You must be disappointed that they you had plans to launch with some fanfare and the reunion of friends, six actors that aren't in the same place together very often. UM. Is that did you feel like when it became clear that in pandemic conditions that that that reunion special was not going to happen? Did you did you scramble at all to try something, to try to find some kind of a replacement event or how did how did you

grapple with that curveball? Well, at first we were in denial right that it would be um delayed that long, as I think we all were when this started. At first we thought, oh, shows will be you know, delayed for a month or or two at the most. And now it seems like it's going to be you know, far longer than that. Um. And uh, we're holding out for being able to get this special done hopefully by the end of the summer, if if the stars aligned

and we can get back into production. UM. We do think there's a value to having a big, raucous live audience to experience these six great friends coming back together, and you know, we didn't want to just suddenly do it on a web call with you know, six squares and you know people shooting from their kitchens and their bedrooms. UM. Now I reserve the right to say, if this goes on, you know, indefinitely, we may you know go more to to a virtual route if if it is delayed too long.

But at the moment, we're trying to you know, look to the few you and get this thing done, um in a more conventional way. And UM, I think it's worth waiting for we were we would have loved to have had it on day one. But at the same time, if we can get it watched in the fall, um, I think it'll be something that we can you know, have the audience really looking forward to as well. You could almost you know, a second wave of another wave

of marketing around it. Well, like I said at the beginning, is just the start of the marathon, and we need to have you know, events like the Friends reunion every several months, if not you know, longer, now we'll never have that you know, that perfect storm again. But it's incumbent on us to you know, have one thing after another that keeps the audience really really adage. We'll be right back Huntsville, Alabama, in a d that was as

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and all other platforms. Welcome back to Strictly Business. Here's more of my conversation with Warner Media's Bob Green Black. You've had obviously the pandemic conditions have have thrown a wrench into into some of your original programming plans, but you didn't have a ton beyond the Friend especially, you didn't have a ton that was going to be on at launch. You really are so much of the HBO Max sort of selling proposition to the public is the

depth of this library incredible movies and incredible shows. Do you feel like that's a competitive differentiator for you because

it is so deep, especially with adult programming. M Yes, I agree with that, but I would also just say that, um, you know, when you look at the original programming of HBO again, since the service is part of HBO Max, all of the new HBO original programming from Perry Mason which is coming up this summer, you know, to Lovecraft Country, Um, all those shows, the Undoing and the Fall with Nicole Kidman and you Grant will be part of you know,

HBO Max. And then there's actually quite a lot of Max originals, which is the additional original content that we're building around the HBO shows. Um. We're launching with six shows those on day one, including a show you know, starting the wonderful Anna Kendrick called love Life. We have the Elmo talk show for kids. We have a great reality show called Legendary. UM, we have a really searing documentary called On the Record. We're gonna have a lot

of original programming on the Max side of things as well. UM, and then it's our job to keep those coming as the summer you know rolls on. But but yes, the libraries and the acquisitions that we've made friends South Park, you know, Big Bang theory. Um, the list goes on and on the west wing will be there. Those really are also I think differentiators for us, And when you put it all together, I think it's a really extraordinary value.

Let me ask you, you know, um, Bob, you've been you've been involved with a lot of networks over the years. You've you've helped you know, you've come into networks, but we're in a in a bad place and lifted them up. You brought you know, during your time at show time, you really brought that company into the original series business. What what is different about doing this kind of a launch for something for a channel that is not a

linear channel but but an on demand collection. Does it change the way you think about the positioning, the marketing, how you go about bringing an audience two an on demand network versus versus a linear network where you can say tune in Sunday night at nine. Yes, Um, honestly, yes, I mean I think there's a real uh, you know

goal too. And it's familiar to us to bringing an audience to something new, a brand new platform in which we are you know, branding the new service and getting it out into you know, the world at large and you know, by and large, we're doing you know, the marketing outreach in the same way we would do a launch you know, on on any you know sort of

big network. UM. However, once you get the platform up and running and the customers start coming, then you have data and insights that it come directly from the viewing patterns of these audiences, and they start telling you in a much more sophisticated and I would say maybe accurate way than Nielsen does UM what people are watching and what they want to watch, and and then we start to UM adjust the programming accordingly UM and at the same time market to them in a growth and subscription way,

very differently than you know, taking a thirty second spot somewhere or an outdoor billboard. Those UM marketing plans, which are very complex and strategic, you know, go right to the audience, the customer themselves, UM and in different demos and you know groups of how people watch certain shows, and the sophistication of that is really what I think will UM you know, differentiate us from our competitors as well as all of our all of the streaming platforms

from traditional media. And it really is a whole new way of speaking directly to you know, the customer. And you must already, as you've said, this is day one, is day one. You you've said that you've had you plan to have iterations every eight weeks or so. Are you already looking down the road to a time when you might have more, you know, some form of CNN on HBO act, you might have other elements from the Warner Media world adding you know, flowing into that hub.

You mean sort of as a as a standalone service that we add to the platform or do you mean programming from those more more programming coming in from Yes, in fact, we are you know, CNN. I think people know this have an incredible movie division and they make sclose and in films, they make documentaries, um. And we are ordering several new documentaries from them as well as

um many things from their library. Um saying with other networks and services across the Warner Brothers portfolio, whether it's

Adult Swim or the cartoon network. We have all the Hanna Bear hand of Barbara cartoons and you know, all the great Warner Brothers animation and we've just ordered you know, eighty new Loony tunes, um, you know, to go along with the loom this library that we have, so there's gonna be a lot of things from the Warner Brothers assets, new versions of them, on the on the on the

service and the platform. Um. And you know, at the same time, we're also acquiring things outside the company, So there's a voracious appetite you know, that needs to be fed on this platform. Um. But I will say Warner Brothers brings us so many things right from the get go, and we've spent the last year mining through what all those are and how can we do you know, new and updated regions of The Gossip Girl, you know, is a good example from Warner by this television which will

be coming later in the year. Um, and you know, we're thrilled to have it. So we were really in a great position with the assets we already own. Um. But we're really not stopping there. It goes, it goes well beyond that. M Um. Bob, you came into Warner Media in March of nineteen, so you came in fairly fairly early on, but you came into a situation where people were already working on the thing that would become HBO. Max.

What was challenging for you as a leader coming into something that was sort of already sort of already moving in one direction, but you were tasked with bringing it all together. What would you say were some of the challenges especially early on. Well, the good news is that it wasn't that far along UM. There were only a couple of key people that were starting to work on the tech platform and very early stages of new content. UM. So I did have the ability to get in there

really at the beginning of it all. But it was like inventing, not inventing, but setting up almost an entirely new network. And I know network is sort of an old fashioned UM comparison, but for me, having come from various networks, it was appropriate because we had to come up with, you know, a content group and an acquisitions

group and a scheduling group. I mean, we are going to schedule HBO Max in a way that is done with some of the old fashioned way, with people coming up with what shows are delivered when and what shows they should go with. And um, obviously the technical side of it that the development of product was an enormous undertaking. We have great assets in the overall a T and T world. Otter Media was already at the company. So we had the ability to draft Tony Consalvas and Andy

Forcell over to the Max side of the company. And he was at Kulu at the beginning. And Tony has been involved in many of the digital enterprises at A T and T. So UM, I really just tried to assemble all the right people and try to organize it um. And I will say it was done quickly. Um. And it's remarkable to me that only fourteen or fifteen months after almost the original inception of this new business, it's going to be launched. UM. And we're really proud of

where we are. I say that, you know, with with all due uh you know, sort of humility. Where will you be on the I guess I should ask where where? Where had you plan to be? If the situation had been normal, would you have all been together? Probably? And you know we were we were playing an enormous launch party that everyone was going to come to. And um, you know, Hollywood loves the launch party, so we were all excited about that a lot. Probably you know, we

hadn't even gotten that far into planning. But but most likely we did redirect all of our pr efforts in the last you know, eight weeks into either virtual events, and we've had a number of them online with people. UM, but uh, you know we all would have been together in some former fashion. I think in this case, I will just probably tick to my bed on the twenty seven and I want to get up because it's really

been you know, a long haul for the past year. Um, and uh, you know, we all feel we're feeling on this relief of it. And then of course, like I keep saying the broken record, it ain't over. We just have to then, you know, go go go, you know, until you know time runs out. Basically, So much for taking the time out, good luck with everything. Is great to speak with you as always, greatly appreciate it. Thank you, love to see you to be m Thanks for listening.

Be sure to tune in next week for another episode of Strictly Business. Huntsville, Alabama, in a city that was

as American as Apple Strudel. From l A Times Studios comes paper Clip, a podcast sponsored by Amazon Studios and inspired by its Emmy eligible dramatic series Hunters starring Al Pacino and Logan Leharman, join host Michael Ian Black as he teams up with a Cold War scholar to explore Operation paper Clip, a real life, top secret program that brought Nazi scientists to the American heartland to work on

government aerospace and medical research projects. Available now on Apple Podcasts and all other platforms.