Chapter 1981 Full Support

Yang Cheng put aside distracting thoughts and continued to ask, "When it comes to HBO nowadays, there are two ideas that are often mentioned by people: multilateral distribution and traditional ecology. Can you talk about it in detail? You know I also hope that CW TV station can have the same concept. .”

Plepler said on the second floor, “The so-called variable growth is actually the simultaneous advancement of digital business and traditional partners.

When I decided on these two-step strategies, I looked at the market and realized that HBO's penetration rate in both aspects was hugely inadequate.

It's acknowledged by myself and the people at the top of the company that more and more viewers are no longer watching cable TV.

When we decided to create an independent streaming service in early 2013, there were probably only 5 million households with only broadband and no cable TV.

Just two years later, in 2015, we took the stage in Cupertino, California, and announced an exclusive partnership between HBO and Apple. The number of such households may be 8.5 million to 10 million, and today it is close to 20 million.

On the other hand, we also know that our penetration rate in the traditional ecosystem is far from enough.

So our task is to conceive of agreements that incentivize traditional partners, because there's a lot of room for growth in that market, but also make sure that we provide options for customers so that even if they only have broadband access, they can watch HBO, both ways Simultaneously and in parallel to ensure HBO’s smooth transition into the transformation period.

Although the CW TV station started late in this regard, due to the intervention of New Era Media, the resources for development are much better than HBO, so it is not difficult. "

Yang Cheng frowned and asked, "Isn't this going to be cannibalization?"

Plepler shook his head, "No, some people prefer traditional program packages, which may contain less content and don't have 180 channels.

But for HBO, a smaller package is a good thing, because if the average price of paid viewing through cable, satellite TV or telecom channels drops from $100 to, say, $65 or $70, that means HBO It will be easier for people to accept because HBO will definitely be among the menu options.

Cable, satellite and telecom operators would be able to package HBO content more efficiently if the program packages contained less content.

To be honest, we were lucky enough to be able to develop in parallel and transition to digital at the right time.

These two aspects do not restrict each other. I always say that operators are not doing us a favor by selling HBO content.

Whether it is a digital operator or a traditional operator.

They sell HBO content because it's a great product that makes their programming package more attractive, and because they know customers want it.

You just have to explain to undecided voters what's included in the HBO package. Those are the people who can be persuaded because they didn't know it before.

You have to explain to them that there are thousands of hours of programming, and let them know that in addition to great original programming, we have four Hollywood studios.

You have to remind people that no matter what device they prefer, they can find HBO and watch HBO content on it.

As our partners started communicating this more forcefully and effectively, we also saw incredible growth in paying users.

I can tell you a set of data. According to our forecast, in the third fiscal quarter of this year, HBO's paid user revenue will increase by 12%.

You should understand what this is. This is expected to achieve the highest growth in paid revenue in HBO's history, so I think this proves that the two paths I decided on were right. "

Yang Cheng smiled, "This also proves that I was right to recruit you~"

Plepler raised his glass and said, "I hope you can say the same thing when my contract ends~"

"I have this confidence~"

"Ha~thank you~"

Yang Cheng took a sip of wine and tilted his head slightly to see that Long Ma was always smiling but not speaking. She felt a little distressed for no reason. This woman is really the blue and white porcelain in the vase. No wonder the awesome Ma Wang is attracted to her. Impressed.

In order to take care of Long Ma, Yang Cheng took the initiative to talk about Game of Thrones, "It's too difficult to be original now. Even classics like "Game of Thrones" are based on adaptations."

Regarding this point, Plepler has deep feelings, "Many media pay attention to original programs. Original content such as "Game of Thrones" and programs that have won many awards are actually based on a certain fan base, otherwise it would be difficult to Such a huge impact.

And what I want to say is that the decline of original programs is a general trend. Today's audiences, even if they watch classic movies on TV, are not willing to easily try an original TV series.

In particular, the penetration rate of movies is still very high, and of course this is also a big driving force.

Judging from the ratings, 79% of customers watch movies on cable TV channels; about 72% of customers do not have a specific platform, but accept all platforms. "

Yang Cheng also discovered this. The CW TV station has a special movie channel dedicated to replaying classic movies. Even if it has only been released for less than a month, it still contributes to good ratings.

Even more than the original variety shows they spent huge sums of money to create. At first, he thought it was because the content of the program was not novel and eye-catching enough, but now it seems that this is a habit of modern people.

He sighed, "The popularity of movies is really incredible. Even if people have already watched a certain movie in the cinema, they will still watch it a second or even third time on TV stations such as HBO or CW."

Plepler said, "No matter what, this is a good addition to our program library. Now that we realize the importance of movies, we must more actively promote the advantages of movies from now on, just to remind customers, In addition to the program library, there are many good movies on our TV station.

For example, on HBO, you can watch "The Wire," "The Sopranos," and "Sex and the City."

If you missed "Big Little Lies", you can start watching it from the beginning. If you haven't watched "The Finger", you can also watch it back to catch up with the latest content, familiarize yourself with our products and programs, and remember to watch the next season or the next one programme.

This is the biggest advantage of video on demand. HBO pioneered this format. Our streaming service is the icing on the cake. It is a huge convenience for customers and provides a variety of choices. "

Yang Cheng smiled, "I still remember that you were appointed as the co-president in charge of program content in 2007. At that time, "The Sopranos" was about to end and "Sex and the City" had finished airing. Not only Hollywood people, but also laymen like me Everyone feels that HBO is coming to an end."

Plepler also admitted, "There is actually some truth to this. I think HBO was a little arrogant at the time. The success of "The Sopranos" and "Sex and the City" made the network unable to stop, and they felt that they had a secret weapon.

But I think HBO has lost some opposing voices because of this. Competition is the best recipe for development, no one.

When I was in a meeting at HBO, I emphasized to the employees: There will never be another "The Sopranos", there will be the next great series, let's go back to the basics, believe in the words of great artists and directors, they I have my own ideas for the next series.

So we have Alan Ball’s True Blood, Lena Dunham’s Sisters, Armando Iannucci’s Veep, and Mike Judge and Alec Bo Grid's "Silicon Valley."

And of course two guys who had never done TV before, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, came up with the idea of ​​adapting George R.R. Martin's work, which was great."

When saying this, he also gestured to Long Ma with a wine glass.

Yang Cheng pondered for a moment and then said, "I heard that at Time Warner, you and their CEO Jeff Bewkes are very good friends?"

"Oh, not only that, he was my teacher. Jeff held this position from 1995 until 2002. I was fortunate to work under and beside him. He had some very good qualities and I benefited a lot from him. One of them was Yes, he is very good at applauding other people's achievements. I have seen him pick up the phone again and again and call different colleagues and say, 'Well done. Without your contribution, this achievement would not be possible'.

Sometimes I look at him and I don't know that he understands what a particular person did, but he makes it his mission to understand what the situation is like.

Once you create that kind of team spirit in a company, it's contagious and it's immeasurable, and he's done an incredible job at that. "

Yang Cheng said modestly, "I will learn from Jeff and try to become a good friend with you~"

"Ha~ I hope so too, but there is another quality in Jeff that we can learn from together."

"What?"

"He would make big bets, and in 1996 we chose to make From the Earth to the Moon, an $80 million TV miniseries about the Apollo space program that had no guarantee of success. No one dares to say it even if they have confidence.

But Tom Hanks came on board to join the series, and it sparked the idea that we could do big, bold projects.

And then Band of Brothers came about, and Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg came on board, and we made this miniseries based on Stephen Ambrose's book, and those were big bets, Band of Brothers The production cost was as high as $120 million, which was unheard of at the time.

It was Jeff's full support that ultimately allowed the show to greatly boost HBO's brand. "

Yang Cheng muttered, "I said, I also have the courage to make big bets."

"We'll see~"

Yang Cheng was stunned for a moment, "It seems you are prepared?"

Richard Plepler laughed and said, "Of course, since you have joined the new club, how can you not bring a meeting gift?"

Hearing this, Long Ma felt that Yang Cheng's opportunity had come.

"Is it a brand new TV series? Or a movie? Or a variety show?" Yang Cheng asked impatiently.

"Of course it's a TV series~"

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