Home Box Office
Encyclopedia
HBO, short for Home Box Office, is an American premium cable television
network, owned by Time Warner
. , HBO's programming reaches 28.2 million subscribers in the United States
, making it the second largest premium network in America (Encore's programming reaches 32.9 million subscribers ). In addition to its U.S. subscriber base, HBO also broadcasts in at least 151 countries worldwide.
HBO's programming consists primarily of theatrically released motion pictures and original series, along with made-for-cable movies and documentaries, boxing matches, and occasional stand-up comedy and concert specials.
, who had already done pioneering work in the commercial use of cables, won a franchise to build a cable system in Lower Manhattan
in New York
. The new system, which Dolan called "Sterling Manhattan Cable", became the first urban underground cable system in the United States. Rather than stringing cable on telephone poles or using microwave
antennas to receive the signals, Sterling laid underground cable beneath the streets of Manhattan — because the multitude of tall buildings blocked television signals. In the same year Time-Life
, Inc. purchased 20 percent of Dolan's company.
Dolan presented his "Green Channel" idea to Time-Life management, and though satellite distribution seemed only a distant possibility at the time, he persuaded Time Life to back him. Soon afterwards, on November 8, 1972, "The Green Channel" became "Home Box Office". HBO began using a network of microwave relay towers to distribute its programming. The first program and film broadcast on HBO, Sometimes a Great Notion
, starred Paul Newman
and Henry Fonda
. It transmitted with a CATV
system in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
(a plaque commemorating this event is found in Wilkes-Barre's downtown Public Square). HBO's first sports event was broadcast immediately afterwards, an NHL hockey game from Madison Square Garden
featuring the New York Rangers
and the Vancouver Canucks
.
Sterling Manhattan Cable lost money because the company had only a small subscriber base of 20,000 customers in Manhattan. Dolan's media partner, Time-Life, Inc., gained 80-percent control of Sterling and decided to pull the plug on the Sterling Manhattan operation. Time Life dropped the Sterling name to become Manhattan Cable Television and gained control of HBO in March 1973. Gerald Levin
replaced Dolan as HBO's President and Chief Executive Officer. In September 1973, Time-Life, Inc. completed its acquisition of the pay service. HBO was soon the fastest growing TV pay service in America, but the churn rate
was exceptionally high. Subscribers would sample the service for a few weeks, get weary of seeing the same films, and then cancel. HBO was struggling and something had to be done. When HBO first came to Lawrence, Massachusetts
, the idea was to allow subscribers to preview the service for free
on channel 3. After a month, the service moved to channel 6 and was scrambled. The preview proved popular, obtaining many subscriptions and the concept was used elsewhere.
when it showed the "Thrilla in Manila
" boxing
-match between Muhammad Ali
and Joe Frazier
. HBO switched its domestic satellite transmissions from Westar 1
to Satcom 1
in February 1976 and by 1977 was joined by Ted Turner
's Atlanta superstation
WTCG-TV
(soon to become WTBS) and Pat Robertson
's Christian Broadcasting Network
(later to become the present-day ABC Family
), laying the foundation for satellite delivery in the modern cable television industry.
The network had broadcast only for nine hours a day for its first nine years on air, from 3 p.m. to midnight ET. In September 1981, HBO began broadcasting a 24-hour schedule on weekends, until midnight ET on Sunday nights. On December 28, 1981, HBO expanded its programming schedule to 24 hours a day, seven days per week (Cinemax had a 24-hour schedule from its launch, and Showtime and The Movie Channel went to a 24-hour schedule earlier). On August 1, 1980, HBO launched a companion network, Cinemax
, a movie-based pay service created as HBO's answer to The Movie Channel
; in its early years, Cinemax carried music specials and some limited original programming such as SCTV
and Max Headroom
, in addition to movies, but the network has since become known for airing softcore adult films and series during its late night schedule, and has forayed into original programming with the addition of weekly action series to its lineup in August 2011.
In 1983, HBO's first original movie and the first made-for-pay-TV movie The Terry Fox Story
premiered. That year also saw the premiere of the first kids' show broadcast on the channel: Fraggle Rock
; HBO continued to air various original programs aimed at children until 2001, when such programs were almost completely moved over to HBO Family. HBO became involved in several legal suits during the 1980s; these involved cable systems and legal statutes imposed by state and city laws that would have censored some programming on HBO and other pay-TV networks. In January 1986, HBO also became the first satellite network to encrypt
its signal from unauthorized viewing by way of the Videocipher
II System. Four months later, HBO became a victim of broadcast signal intrusion
when satellite TV dealer John R. MacDougall, a man calling himself "Captain Midnight
", intercepted the network's signal during a movie presentation of The Falcon and the Snowman
. The Federal Communications Commission
subsequently prosecuted MacDougall.
In 1987, HBO launched a short-lived channel, Festival. Festival featured classic
movies and recent hit movies, along with specials and documentaries from HBO. Distinctively, Festival's programmers aimed to provide family-friendly fare. R-rated movies were edited for broadcast and no low-quality series, specials and/or movies were shown. Also, the pricing for subscribing to the channel was cheaper than HBO and Cinemax. Only a few cable systems carried Festival and the channel shut down in late 1988. In 1988, HBO's userbase expanded greatly on account of the Writers Guild of America
going on strike
; HBO had new programming while standard television channels could only broadcast reruns. In 1989, HBO compared programming against pay-television network Showtime, with the slogan "Nobody Brings it Home Like HBO", using the Tina Turner
single "The Best
".
When Time Inc.
merged with Warner Communications
in 1989, HBO became part of Time Warner
(which , continues to serve as the parent company of the network). Coincidentally, Warner Communications had created rival The Movie Channel
(now owned by CBS Corporation
) in the late 1970s before Viacom, which purchased a 50% stake in The Movie Channel in 1983, bought Warner's remaining half-ownership of that network in 1985.
In 1991, HBO and Cinemax
became the first premium services to offer multiplexing
to cable customers. Providing multiple options of HBO and Cinemax instead of just single channel services, these include HBO2 (renamed HBO Plus from 1998 to 2002) and Cinemax (Cinemax 2, from 1998: MoreMax) to three cable systems in Wisconsin, Kansas and Texas. The move proved successful, resulting in HBO and Cinemax launching additional multiplex channels of its service, HBO 3 (launched in 1995, renamed HBO Signature in 1998), HBO Family (launched in 1996), HBO Comedy & HBO Zone (launched in 1999) and HBO Latino, a Latin-themed channel of HBO (launched in 2000). Cinemax also launched the multiplex services Cinemax 3 (launched in 1996, ActionMax in 1998), ThrillerMax (launched in 1998) and WMax, @Max, OuterMax and 5StarMax (all launched in 2001). In 1993, HBO became the world's first digitally transmitted television service. HBO.com, subsequently well known for its online web shows, launched in 1995.
Before 1997, HBO did know success to some extent with shows such as Tales from the Crypt
, Dream On
, Tracey Takes On...
, Mr. Show
, and Arliss
. HBO did have a series that gained major success although not commercially as successful as shows on the Big Three networks and Fox the show did enjoy a cult status, critical acclaim, and did get nominated for and won many major awards. This series is The Larry Sanders Show
and the show is arguably HBO's flagship series during the 90's and possibly the entire HBO time period before 1997. The show is the only HBO comedy to make TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time list and it was also on Time Magazine's list of 100 Best TV Shows of All Time and is ranked by various critics and fans as one of the best TV comedies of the 1990s. The series ranked #38 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time
, the only HBO comedy to make the list. It was also included in Time
magazine's list of the "100 Best TV Shows of All Time." Other shows which subsequently aired on HBO, such as Curb Your Enthusiasm
, Extras, and Entourage
, have used traits from the show.
Beginning in 1997, with its first one-hour dramatic narrative series Oz
, HBO started a trend that became commonplace with premium cable providers. Although critically acclaimed, it was not until 1999, when their second one-hour narrative series The Sopranos
premiered, that the network achieved both critical mass and Emmy success. In its six-season run, The Sopranos received 111 Emmy nominations, resulting in 21 wins - two of them for the Emmy for Best Drama
. In 1999, HBO became the first national cable TV network to broadcast a high-definition
simulcast channel. In July 2001, HBO launched the first premium subscription video-on-demand enhancement in the United States, called HBO on Demand, to Time Warner Cable
subscribers in Columbia, South Carolina
. A few years later in 2002, HBO launched a new show called The Wire
, that although it did not surpass The Sopranos ratings wise it did however surpass it critically and academically and even more greatly further cemented HBO's reputation as being a network that produces quality programming. The series ran for five-seasons and six years.
HBO subscribers generally pay for an extra "tier" of service even before paying for the channel itself (though HBO often prices all of its channels together in a single package). However, federal law requires that a cable system allow a person to get just basic cable, local broadcast channels, Public, educational, and government access
(PEG) Channels and HBO, without subscribing to expanded service. Cable systems can require the use of a converter box (usually digital) to receive HBO.
Other networks and local syndication have re-aired several HBO programs (usually after some editing), and a number of HBO works have become available on DVD
. Since HBO's more successful series, most notably Sex and the City
, The Sopranos
, Curb Your Enthusiasm
, Entourage
, Deadwood
, Six Feet Under, Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones
, and True Blood
, go to air on non-cable networks in other countries, such as in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and much of Europe, HBO programming has the potential of exposure to a higher percentage of the population of those countries as compared to the U.S. Because of the high cost of HBO, many Americans only view HBO programs on DVD
s or in basic cable or broadcast syndication
, months or even years after the network has first broadcast the programs, and with editing for advertising time and content, although several series have filmed alternate 'clean' scenes meant for syndication runs.
, continuing a long-held policy, the primary HBO channel still does not run R-rated films or TV-MA rated programming before 8 p.m. (Eastern and Pacific), despite the existence of the V-chip
and even after all of its rival premium services began including R-rated films on their daytime schedule as early as the mid-1980s. However, since 2010, a minimal amount of TV-MA rated programming, generally programs that contain some strong profanity and violence but are largely devoid of nudity, and graphic violent and/or sexual content (such as Real Time with Bill Maher
), has aired on weekends during the daytime hours on the main HBO channel. HBO's multiplex channels (excluding HBO Family, which does not run R-rated films or programs with a TV-MA rating at all) will air TV-MA and R-rated programming during the daytime. This policy may have once stemmed from the availability of HBO on analog cable tiers (while the multiplex channels generally required digital cable or at least scrambling).
channels and a video on demand
service (HBO On Demand). HBO also packages the Eastern
and Pacific
feeds of the main channel together, allowing viewers a second chance to watch the same movie/program three hours later/earlier — depending on their geographic location. However, some cable systems only offer the main channel (and in some cases, HBO2) in this manner.
high definition simulcast feeds of all seven of its multiplex channels. HBO HD is available on Cox Communications
, DirecTV
, Time Warner Cable
, Dish Network
, Xfinity (by Comcast
), AT&T U-verse, Verizon FiOS
and several other major cable providers, although few providers offer all seven multiplex channels in HD.
services to cable customers as companions to the main network, offering multiplex services of HBO and Cinemax to three TeleCable cable systems in Overland Park, Kansas
, Richardson
and Plano, Texas
, and Racine, Wisconsin
. A year later, research from A.C. Nielsen Co. showed that multiplex delivery of HBO and Cinemax had positive impact on subscriber usage and attitudes, including subscribers' retention of pay cable subscriptions. HBO2 was launched as a multiplex channel in 1992, launching on these three systems.
In 1995, HBO3 launched, and a year later HBO Family launched, becoming the first family-oriented multiplex service of a premium channel (Showtime, Starz and Encore have similar family-oriented multiplex channels). In April 1998 the HBO multiplex channels became collectively known as "HBO The Works", and the Cinemax channels became known as "MultiMax". Also, HBO2 and HBO3 underwent major rebrands: HBO2 was renamed HBO Plus, and HBO3 became HBO Signature (a network aimed at women). In May of the following year, HBO Comedy & HBO Zone (a network aimed at young adults) were launched and in 2000, HBO Latino, a Latino-themed channel of HBO launched (HBO also offered a Spanish-language enhancement called HBO En Español, airing select HBO programs in Spanish via second audio programming (SAP), that launched in 1988). Finally in 2002, HBO Plus reverted back to its original HBO2 name.
The HBO Multiplex became collectively known under the name "HBO The Works" for several years starting in 1998, while the Cinemax channels became known as "MultiMax". the HBO multiplex, individually, has no "official" name. However, HBO and Cinemax's respective multiplex packages are referred collectively as the "HBO/MAX Pak". Subscribers of DirecTV, Dish Network and some cable providers can get the Cinemax networks without subscribing to HBO, though most cable providers offer the two services and their respective multiplexes as a package.
as a family-oriented multiplex channel of HBO. It was originally launched in 1990
as HBO For Kids and was rebranded under the "HBO Family" name six years later. HBO Family programming consists of educational and original programs for preschoolers from 6 a.m. to noon (Eastern and Pacific time). Programs during this time include The Road Runner Show
, Kids On, Crashbox
, Stuart Little
, Harold and the Purple Crayon
, The Little Lulu Show
, A Little Curious
, George and Martha
, Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
, The Adventures of Paddington Bear
, HBO Storybook Musicals
and others; from 12 p.m. to 6 a.m. ET, the channel's schedule consists of G, PG and PG-13 rated movies, along with some original specials. No R-rated or TV-MA rated programs are broadcast on the channel. Times may vary depending on which feed (east or west) they are provided by their satellite or cable provider.
As of 2011, HBO Family's on-air look is the same as HBO's other multiplexed channels. Prior to 2011, HBO Family's on-air look was different from HBO's other multiplexed channels. Between programs until 2007, HBO Family provided graphic text at the end of promo spots displaying the date and time for the next airdate of that program, something that the original HBO had done but now is no longer provided in this format, HBO Family now only references most programs as airing this month or the following month with typically no reference to a specific air date and time. Also during the interstitial program
ming, viewers of HBO Family are shown interstitials aimed at families and an HBO Family ID before a movie.
, to form Time Warner) and first-run Spanish-language movies (mostly from Mexico, Argentina and Spain). Selecciones en Español was renamed HBO en Español on September 27, 1993. It was eventually changed to its current name, HBO Latino on October 31, 2000. HBO Latino began to broadcast HBO original series dubbed into Spanish. Beginning in 2004, however, HBO Latino began to screen original Spanish-language programming (mostly from HBO Latin America). In 2006, it began to add Portuguese language programming to its schedule. The original boxing anthology series, Boxeo de Oro has been a staple of HBO Latino since its inception in 2000.
HBO Latino largely serves as a simulcast of the main HBO channel, albeit with the alternate Spanish-language audio track (that can also be accessed on the main HBO channel, via the Secondary Audio Program function on TVs and digital cable-ready converter boxes) dubbed over the program, but with limited program substitutions and differences in network promotions featured in-between programs. HBO Family, along with HBO Latino, have the distinction of being the only HBO spin-offs with their own websites; all the others are integrated within the main HBO site. The site includes schedules and more.
counterpart to HBO; it offers movies, original series and specials previously seen on the network. The standard definition and high definition versions of the HBO on Demand service are available on most cable and satellite providers, delivered to customers who subscribe to the linear HBO channels at no additional charge. On January 3, 2011, HBO became the first premium channel and the first cable network to offer a 3D-only VOD service as it launched a subscription video on demand service offering select feature films in 3D to Comcast
and Verizon FiOS
customers who subscribe to the HBO service.
, AT&T U-verse, Google TV
, Cox Communications
, Comcast
, DirecTV
, Dish Network
, Suddenlink Communications
, and Charter Communications
. The HBO Go iPad
, iPhone
, and Android app launched on April 29, 2011. The app was downloaded over one million times in its first week, and had over three million downloads by the end of June 2011.
HBO Go is the successor to HBO on Broadband, originally launched in January 2008 to Time Warner Cable
customers in Green Bay
and Milwaukee, Wisconsin
. It featured 400 hours of movies and original series that could be downloaded to computers, at no extra charge for HBO subscribers; viewers had to be a digital cable customer who was an HBO subscriber, and used their cable company as their internet service provider. Programming included 130 movie titles that rotated monthly and top hits ranging from movies, series and specials.
On October 11, 2011, it was announced that HBO Go would be available through the Roku
streaming player, though under the same requirements that a cable or satellite subscription to HBO is required. It is unknown if there are any plans to offer HBO Go on a stand alone subscription basis like some channels are offered on Roku.
, violence, and nudity - content that would be much more difficult to get on basic cable or over-the-air broadcast
channels, for fear of losing sponsors.
(which last until 2013, at which time the NetFlix
streaming service will assume pay-TV rights), Fox Searchlight, Universal Studios
, Focus Features
, and network sister companies Warner Bros.
and New Line Cinema
. HBO also held rights to live-action films from DreamWorks Pictures, but it relinquished those rights at the end of 2010, when the distribution rights shifted from Paramount Pictures
to Touchstone Pictures
(whose films are broadcast by Showtime through a distribution agreement with Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group). On May 2011, HBO announced a licensing agreement with Summit Entertainment
to obtain pay-cable rights to theatrically released films from the studio released between 2013 and 2017, after Summit's exclusive licensing deal with Showtime expires in late 2012.
HBO also shows sub-runs (runs of films that have already received broadcast network/syndicated television releases) of theatrical films from Viacom
subsidiaries Paramount Pictures
and Republic Pictures
, Universal Pictures
, The Walt Disney Company
, Sony Pictures, Fox Searchlight (select films from all five studios are shared with Starz and Encore), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
, DreamWorks Pictures, and Lionsgate
. Starting in 2008 and continuing so forth, HBO also has exclusive pay-cable rights to its own in-house theatrical films made through HBO Films
.
Usually films which HBO has pay-cable rights to will also run on Cinemax during its time of license, although some feature films from the aforementioned studios that HBO and Cinemax have broadcast rights to will make their premium television debut on Cinemax several weeks before its premiere on HBO.
/ Vancouver Canucks
game, transmitted to a CATV system in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania on November 8, 1972. HBO is known for its boxing match-ups including those shown on HBO World Championship Boxing. In 1975, the "Thrilla in Manila
" boxing
match between Muhammad Ali
and Joe Frazier
aired on HBO and was the first program on the pay-cable network to air via satellite. Also in 1975
, HBO began airing coverage of Wimbledon and did so until 1999
. Coverage then moved to sister network TNT
and later to ESPN2
.
In 1973, HBO aired a World Wide Wrestling Federation
event from Madison Square Garden, headlined by George Steele
facing Pedro Morales
. The event has aired as part of the WWE 24/7 on-demand service. During the mid-1970s, HBO aired several NBA and ABA basketball games (notably, the last ABA Final in 1976, between the New York Nets and Denver Nuggets) as well as some NHL hockey games. HBO Sports also aired PBA
bowling
events during the 1970s. Dick Stockton
was the play-by-play announcer and Skee Foremsky was the color commentator.
In 1977
, HBO launched Inside the NFL
, the channel's longest-running program, but cancelled it in February 2008
, with rival pay TV network Showtime picking up the series starting in September 2008
. HBO launched Boxing After Dark
in 1996, showcasing some of boxing's newest talents. HBO currently operates HBO PPV (formerly TVKO) to broadcast boxing matches to pay-per-view
subscribers.
In 2001, HBO hired Bob Costas
to host a 12-episode sports show called On the Record with Bob Costas
. A revamped version of On the Record began in 2005, Costas Now
, which ended its run in 2009. Both shows are very similar to another HBO sports show called Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
that currently runs on the network. The channel debuted another sports show Joe Buck Live
, hosted by longtime baseball commentator Joe Buck
in 2009. HBO and NFL Films have also jointly produced Hard Knocks
, which follows a team in training camp and their preparations for the upcoming NFL season. The series, which first premiered in 2001
, returned in August 2009 to document the Cincinnati Bengals
.
HBO Sports has been headed by several well-known television executives over the years, including Steve Powell (later head of Programming at ESPN
), Dave Meister (later head of The Tennis Channel
), Seth Abraham (later head of Madison Square Garden Sports) and Ross Greenburg
.
brand. Among the regular AU features are Real Sex
and Autopsy
.
In 2004, guided by human rights activist Ansar Burney
, an HBO team for Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
used a hidden camera to document slavery and torture in secret desert camps where boys under the age of five were trained to race camels, a national sport in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This half-hour investigative report exposed a carefully hidden child slavery ring that bought or kidnapped hundreds of young boys in Pakistan and Bangladesh. These boys were then forced to become camel jockeys
in the UAE. The report also questioned the sincerity of U.S. diplomacy in pressuring an ally, the UAE, to comply with its own stated policy of banning the use of children under 15 from camel racing.
The documentary won a Sports Emmy Award
in 2004 for "Outstanding Sports Journalism" and the 2006 Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Award for outstanding broadcast journalism. It also brought world attention to the plight of child camel jockeys in the Middle East and helped Ansar Burney Trust to convince the governments of Qatar and the UAE to end the use of children in this sport.
HBO is also noted for its Sports of the 20th Century documentary brand. One of its most recent documentaries was Dare to Dream about the U.S. Women's Soccer Team and their effort to make a difference. This documentary featured Mia Hamm
, Kristine Lilly
, Brandi Chastain
, Joy Fawcett, and Julie Foudy.
In 2006, film director Spike Lee
made a four-hour documentary on Hurricane Katrina
called When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, which was broken up into two parts. Also in 2006, documentary artist Lauren Greenfield
directed a feature length film about four young women struggling with eating disorders in the Renfrew Clinic in Florida, called Thin
. 2008 saw the US television premiere of the documentary film Baghdad High, which depicted the lives of four boys attending a high school in Baghdad, Iraq, over the course of one year in the form of a video diary. The documentary was filmed by the boys themselves, who were given video cameras for the project.
In November 2008, HBO paid low seven figures for U.S. TV rights to Amy Rice and Alicia Sams's documentary, By the People: The Election of Barack Obama. It covers Obama's 2006 trip to Africa, his presidential primary campaign, the 2008 general election and his inauguration. The documentary has been released to theatres in New York and Los Angeles and aired in November 2009.
The logo became iconic due to what is perhaps the network's most famous program-opening sequence, "HBO in Space", used from 1982 until 1997, and produced by Liberty Studios
of New York City in 1982 and debuted on the network later that year. The original full version begins with a look in a window at a family (sometimes only a husband and wife) sitting down to watch TV, with their cable box and/or TV tuned to HBO (that part was later replaced with a cloudscape). It then pans and flies through a cityscape and into the countryside and then moves up into outer space, where a starburst appears and the HBO logo (in starship form) appears and rotates toward the camera before multi-colored beams move around the "O" and take the camera inside it, where the type of program is revealed (generally the feature presentation). For many years, HBO also used a shortened version of this opening sequence which began with a fade in to show the starry night sky. The starburst (or stargate effect) occurs, and the logo flies towards you as in the regular opening. Several versions of the intro appear on YouTube
, including one posted by HBO's official YouTube channel. The accompanying fanfare, originally composed by Ferdinand Jay Smith III of Jay Advertising
for Score Productions
, has been re-orchestrated several times over the years, with arrangements from the traditional horns to piano. The current feature presentation bumper still uses a modified version of this theme.
Another famous HBO ID, "Neon Lights," designated non-8 p.m. movies from December 1986 to 1997. The sequence, set to an electric guitar theme, begins with a purple HBO logo on a vertical filmstrip as light rays shoot through it; the camera then pans around several CG slots glowing in blue, green and pink until a light flash hits several spheres glowing in various rainbow colors. The spheres zoom out forming the HBO logo in light purple with "Movie" written in cursive in magenta with the rainbow spheres on a black background behind the words.
Between 1997 and 1999 HBO used several "Feature Presentation" opens which showed the HBO logo in different situations, such as a fish in water, a celebrity in a limo, a large HBO logo chasing a man, and on the rooftop of a building.
The next HBO "Feature Presentation" bumper used from 1999 until April 1, 2011 also used CGI graphics. The version seen every day featured the camera flying over ground as spotlights rapidly turn on, one by one. The camera suddenly slows, begins to face the "ground" and reveals a HBO logo-shaped lake, and the words "Feature Presentation" appear one by one, in 3D. The full version, only seen during Saturday night movie premieres, began on a city street, showing a movie theater marquee
which reads "HBO FEATURE PRESENTATION" in all caps. The camera zooms into a box office booth and then flashes, changes scenery and zooms through a country road passing under a "H"-shaped tower, then a snowy mountain road jumping over a drop-down cliff, and goes through a "B"-shaped tunnel on the other side, then rapidly coming upon a desert road catching up to a "O"-shaped tanker truck. It then appears in a urban neighborhood with skyscrapers visible in the background passing by houses and stores, and a city bus. The road becomes a bridge, coming upon the downtown of the city, bypassing the buildings seen earlier. The same animation that is seen in the more common shorter version then plays as usual.
The current HBO "Feature Presentation" bumper used since April 2, 2011 features a blue aurora background, the HBO logo, and the words "Feature Presentation".
HBO bucks the general trend in pay-TV networks (including the themed networks of sister channel Cinemax) and does not brand programming with digital on-screen graphic
logos of the main network and each respective theme channel.
In 1990, HBO launched HBO Independent Productions, a production company that produced mainly sitcoms for broadcast and basic cable television, including Martin
, Roc
and Everybody Loves Raymond
(distributed by CBS Television Distribution
). HBO Downtown Productions launched a year later, producing comedy specials for the network as well as content for Comedy Central (which HBO formerly co-owned).
HBO also operates HBO Films
, established in 1999 as a reconfiguration and consolidation of its former movie divisions, HBO NYC Productions and HBO Pictures. HBO also operated another film-division called HBO Showcase, which ceased in 1996 to become HBO NYC Productions.
HBO has participated in a number of joint venture
s:
) to establish HBO Mobile. HBO Mobile, a pay service feature much like the cable network itself, features information on HBO original series such as The Sopranos
, Sex and the City
and others, including episode guides, wallpapers and ringtones voiced by cast-members of HBO series.
In 2005, a version of the DVD interactive game Scene It was released by Mattel
, tailored to the HBO network itself; it features trivia on various HBO series.
In 1987, HBO launched a short-lived channel called "Festival". It featured classic movies and recent hit movies as well as HBO's specials and documentaries. The difference with Festival was that it was programmed as a family-friendly service. Atypical for a premium channel, "R"-rated movies were edited for broadcast on Festival and no low-quality programs or movies were shown on the channel. Also, pricing for a subscription of the channel was lower than that of HBO and Cinemax. Festival provided its subscribers with a nicely printed 20-page monthly color guide. Festival, like HBO, also showed free previews - such as the October 30-November 2, 1987 preview, hosted by Tony Randall
in-between programs. Festival's slogan was Quality Entertainment You Welcome Home. But only a few cable systems carried Festival and the channel went dark in 1988.
In 1996, HBO re-entered the family premium channel arena with HBO Family, a channel similar to Festival.
Programming on Festival included:
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
network, owned by Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
. , HBO's programming reaches 28.2 million subscribers in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, making it the second largest premium network in America (Encore's programming reaches 32.9 million subscribers ). In addition to its U.S. subscriber base, HBO also broadcasts in at least 151 countries worldwide.
HBO's programming consists primarily of theatrically released motion pictures and original series, along with made-for-cable movies and documentaries, boxing matches, and occasional stand-up comedy and concert specials.
Development and launch
In 1965 Charles DolanCharles Dolan
Charles F. Dolan is an American billionaire and founder of Cablevision and HBO.-Biography:A John Carroll University drop out, Dolan is married and has six children, including Cablevision Systems Corporation and Madison Square Garden, Inc. chairman James L. Dolan.The Charles F...
, who had already done pioneering work in the commercial use of cables, won a franchise to build a cable system in Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York...
in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The new system, which Dolan called "Sterling Manhattan Cable", became the first urban underground cable system in the United States. Rather than stringing cable on telephone poles or using microwave
Microwave
Microwaves, a subset of radio waves, have wavelengths ranging from as long as one meter to as short as one millimeter, or equivalently, with frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz. This broad definition includes both UHF and EHF , and various sources use different boundaries...
antennas to receive the signals, Sterling laid underground cable beneath the streets of Manhattan — because the multitude of tall buildings blocked television signals. In the same year Time-Life
Time-Life
Time–Life is a creator and direct marketer of books, music, video/DVD, and multimedia products. Its products are sold throughout North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia through television, print, retail, the Internet, telemarketing, and direct sales....
, Inc. purchased 20 percent of Dolan's company.
Dolan presented his "Green Channel" idea to Time-Life management, and though satellite distribution seemed only a distant possibility at the time, he persuaded Time Life to back him. Soon afterwards, on November 8, 1972, "The Green Channel" became "Home Box Office". HBO began using a network of microwave relay towers to distribute its programming. The first program and film broadcast on HBO, Sometimes a Great Notion
Sometimes a Great Notion (film)
Sometimes A Great Notion is a 1971 American drama film directed by Paul Newman. The screenplay by John Gay is based on the 1964 novel of the same title by Ken Kesey, the first of his books to be adapted for the screen...
, starred Paul Newman
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
and Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
. It transmitted with a CATV
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
system in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the county seat of Luzerne County. It is at the center of the Wyoming Valley area and is one of the principal cities in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, which had a population of 563,631 as of the 2010 Census...
(a plaque commemorating this event is found in Wilkes-Barre's downtown Public Square). HBO's first sports event was broadcast immediately afterwards, an NHL hockey game from Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
featuring the New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
and the Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, :British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place,...
.
Sterling Manhattan Cable lost money because the company had only a small subscriber base of 20,000 customers in Manhattan. Dolan's media partner, Time-Life, Inc., gained 80-percent control of Sterling and decided to pull the plug on the Sterling Manhattan operation. Time Life dropped the Sterling name to become Manhattan Cable Television and gained control of HBO in March 1973. Gerald Levin
Gerald M. Levin
Gerald M. "Jerry" Levin is an American mass-media businessman. CNBC named him as one of the "Worst American CEOs of All Time".- Early life and education :...
replaced Dolan as HBO's President and Chief Executive Officer. In September 1973, Time-Life, Inc. completed its acquisition of the pay service. HBO was soon the fastest growing TV pay service in America, but the churn rate
Churn rate
Churn rate , in its broadest sense, is a measure of the number of individuals or items moving into or out of a collective over a specific period of time...
was exceptionally high. Subscribers would sample the service for a few weeks, get weary of seeing the same films, and then cancel. HBO was struggling and something had to be done. When HBO first came to Lawrence, Massachusetts
Lawrence, Massachusetts
Lawrence is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States on the Merrimack River. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a total population of 76,377. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and North Andover to the southeast. It and Salem are...
, the idea was to allow subscribers to preview the service for free
Free preview
Free preview, sometimes referred to by the portmanteau nickname "freeview", is a term, most commonly used by cable television, referring to when cable systems offer a pay-TV service to customers for free for a short period of time.-History:...
on channel 3. After a month, the service moved to channel 6 and was scrambled. The preview proved popular, obtaining many subscriptions and the concept was used elsewhere.
National expansion, innovation and rise to prominence (1975–1996)
On September 30, 1975, HBO became the first TV network to continuously deliver signals via satelliteCommunications satellite
A communications satellite is an artificial satellite stationed in space for the purpose of telecommunications...
when it showed the "Thrilla in Manila
Thrilla in Manila
The Thrilla in Manila was the third and final famous boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier for the Heavyweight Boxing Championship of the World, fought at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines on October 1, 1975....
" boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
-match between Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
and Joe Frazier
Joe Frazier
Joseph William "Joe" Frazier , also known as Smokin' Joe, was an Olympic and Undisputed World Heavyweight boxing champion, whose professional career lasted from 1965 to 1976, with a one-fight comeback in 1981....
. HBO switched its domestic satellite transmissions from Westar 1
Westar 1
Westar 1 was America's first domestic and commercially launched geostationary communications satellite, launched by Western Union and NASA on April 13, 1974. It was built by Hughes for Western Union, using the HS-333 platform of spin-stabilized satellites. Westar 1 was the first of five Westar...
to Satcom 1
Satcom (satellite)
The Satcom series was a family of communications satellites originally developed and operated by RCA American Communications . Satcom was one of the early geostationary satellites; the first were the Syncom series, in 1964. The first Satcom satellite, Satcom 1, was launched on December 13, 1975...
in February 1976 and by 1977 was joined by Ted Turner
Ted Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...
's Atlanta superstation
Superstation
Superstation in United States television can have several meanings. In its most precise meaning, a superstation is defined by the Federal Communications Commission as "A television broadcast station, other than a network station, licensed by the FCC that is secondarily transmitted by a satellite...
WTCG-TV
TBS (TV channel)
TBS , stylized in the logo as tbs, is an American cable television channel owned by Time Warner that shows a variety of programming, with a focus on comedy. TBS was originally known as WTCG, a UHF terrestrial television station that broadcast from Atlanta, Georgia, during the late 1970s...
(soon to become WTBS) and Pat Robertson
Pat Robertson
Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson is a media mogul, television evangelist, ex-Baptist minister and businessman who is politically aligned with the Christian Right in the United States....
's Christian Broadcasting Network
Christian Broadcasting Network
The Christian Broadcasting Network, or CBN, is a fundamentalist Christian television broadcasting network in the United States. Its headquarters and main studios are in Virginia Beach, Virginia.-Background:...
(later to become the present-day ABC Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
), laying the foundation for satellite delivery in the modern cable television industry.
The network had broadcast only for nine hours a day for its first nine years on air, from 3 p.m. to midnight ET. In September 1981, HBO began broadcasting a 24-hour schedule on weekends, until midnight ET on Sunday nights. On December 28, 1981, HBO expanded its programming schedule to 24 hours a day, seven days per week (Cinemax had a 24-hour schedule from its launch, and Showtime and The Movie Channel went to a 24-hour schedule earlier). On August 1, 1980, HBO launched a companion network, Cinemax
Cinemax
Cinemax, sometimes abbreviated as simply "Max", is a collection of premium television networks that broadcasts primarily feature films, along with softcore erotica, original action series, documentaries and special behind-the-scenes features. Cinemax is operated by Home Box Office, Inc., a...
, a movie-based pay service created as HBO's answer to The Movie Channel
The Movie Channel
The Movie Channel is an American premium channel owned by Showtime Networks, Inc., a subsidiary of CBS Corporation, which shows mostly movies, as well as special behind-the-scenes features, softcore adult erotica and movie trivia....
; in its early years, Cinemax carried music specials and some limited original programming such as SCTV
Second City Television
Second City Television is a Canadian television sketch comedy show offshoot from Toronto's The Second City troupe that ran between 1976 and 1984.- Premise :...
and Max Headroom
Max Headroom (TV series)
Max Headroom is a British-produced American science fiction television series by Chrysalis/Lakeside Productions that aired in the United States on ABC from March 1987 to May 1988. The series was based on the Channel 4 British TV pilot Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future...
, in addition to movies, but the network has since become known for airing softcore adult films and series during its late night schedule, and has forayed into original programming with the addition of weekly action series to its lineup in August 2011.
In 1983, HBO's first original movie and the first made-for-pay-TV movie The Terry Fox Story
The Terry Fox Story
The Terry Fox Story is a 1983 film biopic of Canadian amputee and runner Terry Fox. It was written by Howard Hume, John Kastner and Rose Kastner, and directed by Ralph L. Thomas. The film stars Eric Fryer as Fox, Chris Makepeace as his brother Darrell, and Robert Duvall as Fox's publicist, Bill...
premiered. That year also saw the premiere of the first kids' show broadcast on the channel: Fraggle Rock
Fraggle Rock
Fraggle Rock is a children's live action puppet television program series created by Jim Henson. The central characters were a set of "Muppet" creatures called Fraggles. The show ran from January 10, 1983, to March 30, 1987, on CBC Television in Canada, ITV in the UK, HBO in the United States,...
; HBO continued to air various original programs aimed at children until 2001, when such programs were almost completely moved over to HBO Family. HBO became involved in several legal suits during the 1980s; these involved cable systems and legal statutes imposed by state and city laws that would have censored some programming on HBO and other pay-TV networks. In January 1986, HBO also became the first satellite network to encrypt
Cryptography
Cryptography is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of third parties...
its signal from unauthorized viewing by way of the Videocipher
Videocipher
VideoCipher is a brand name of analog scrambling and de-scrambling equipment for cable and satellite television invented primarily to keep consumer Television receive-only satellite equipment from receiving TV programing except on a subscription basis. It was invented in 1983 by Linkabit...
II System. Four months later, HBO became a victim of broadcast signal intrusion
Broadcast signal intrusion
Broadcast signal intrusion is a term given to the act of hijacking broadcast signals of radio and television stations. Hijacking incidents have involved local TV and radio stations as well as cable and national networks.- Method of intrusion :...
when satellite TV dealer John R. MacDougall, a man calling himself "Captain Midnight
Captain Midnight (HBO)
John R. MacDougall also known as Captain Midnight, is a Florida electronic engineer and business owner who jammed HBO's satellite signal in 1986 to broadcast a message protesting their rates for satellite dish owners.- Scrambling :...
", intercepted the network's signal during a movie presentation of The Falcon and the Snowman
The Falcon and the Snowman
The Falcon and the Snowman is a 1985 film directed by John Schlesinger about two young American men, Christopher Boyce and Daulton Lee , who sold U.S. security secrets to the Soviet Union...
. The Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
subsequently prosecuted MacDougall.
In 1987, HBO launched a short-lived channel, Festival. Festival featured classic
Golden Age (metaphor)
A golden age is a period in a field of endeavour when great tasks were accomplished. The term originated from early Greek and Roman poets who used to refer to a time when mankind lived in a better time and was pure .-Golden Age in society:...
movies and recent hit movies, along with specials and documentaries from HBO. Distinctively, Festival's programmers aimed to provide family-friendly fare. R-rated movies were edited for broadcast and no low-quality series, specials and/or movies were shown. Also, the pricing for subscribing to the channel was cheaper than HBO and Cinemax. Only a few cable systems carried Festival and the channel shut down in late 1988. In 1988, HBO's userbase expanded greatly on account of the Writers Guild of America
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
going on strike
1988 Writers Guild of America strike
The 1988 Writers Guild of America strike was a strike action taken by members of both the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West against major United States television and film studios represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers...
; HBO had new programming while standard television channels could only broadcast reruns. In 1989, HBO compared programming against pay-television network Showtime, with the slogan "Nobody Brings it Home Like HBO", using the Tina Turner
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
single "The Best
The Best (song)
"The Best" is a song written by Mike Chapman and Holly Knight, originally recorded by Bonnie Tyler on her 1988 release Hide Your Heart, in reference to Tom Mason. The single reached reaching #10 in Norway and Portugal, #34 in Spain and #95 in the UK....
".
When Time Inc.
Time Inc.
Time Inc. is a subsidiary of the media conglomerate Time Warner, the company formed by the 1990 merger of the original Time Inc. and Warner Communications. It publishes 130 magazines, most notably its namesake, Time...
merged with Warner Communications
Warner Communications
Warner Communications or Warner Communications, Inc. was established in 1971 when Kinney National Company spun off its non-entertainment assets, due to a financial scandal over its parking operations and changed its name....
in 1989, HBO became part of Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
(which , continues to serve as the parent company of the network). Coincidentally, Warner Communications had created rival The Movie Channel
The Movie Channel
The Movie Channel is an American premium channel owned by Showtime Networks, Inc., a subsidiary of CBS Corporation, which shows mostly movies, as well as special behind-the-scenes features, softcore adult erotica and movie trivia....
(now owned by CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on commercial broadcasting, publishing, billboards and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's...
) in the late 1970s before Viacom, which purchased a 50% stake in The Movie Channel in 1983, bought Warner's remaining half-ownership of that network in 1985.
In 1991, HBO and Cinemax
Cinemax
Cinemax, sometimes abbreviated as simply "Max", is a collection of premium television networks that broadcasts primarily feature films, along with softcore erotica, original action series, documentaries and special behind-the-scenes features. Cinemax is operated by Home Box Office, Inc., a...
became the first premium services to offer multiplexing
Multiplex (TV)
A multiplex or mux is a group of TV channels that are mixed together for broadcast over a digital TV channel and separated out again by the receiver...
to cable customers. Providing multiple options of HBO and Cinemax instead of just single channel services, these include HBO2 (renamed HBO Plus from 1998 to 2002) and Cinemax (Cinemax 2, from 1998: MoreMax) to three cable systems in Wisconsin, Kansas and Texas. The move proved successful, resulting in HBO and Cinemax launching additional multiplex channels of its service, HBO 3 (launched in 1995, renamed HBO Signature in 1998), HBO Family (launched in 1996), HBO Comedy & HBO Zone (launched in 1999) and HBO Latino, a Latin-themed channel of HBO (launched in 2000). Cinemax also launched the multiplex services Cinemax 3 (launched in 1996, ActionMax in 1998), ThrillerMax (launched in 1998) and WMax, @Max, OuterMax and 5StarMax (all launched in 2001). In 1993, HBO became the world's first digitally transmitted television service. HBO.com, subsequently well known for its online web shows, launched in 1995.
Before 1997, HBO did know success to some extent with shows such as Tales from the Crypt
Tales from the Crypt (TV series)
Tales from the Crypt, sometimes titled HBO's Tales from the Crypt, is an American horror anthology television series that ran from 1989 to 1996 on the premium cable channel HBO...
, Dream On
Dream On (TV series)
Dream On is an American adult-themed situation comedy about single New Yorker, Martin Tupper. The show used a gimmick where old black and white clips were used to punctuate the main character's feelings or thoughts...
, Tracey Takes On...
Tracey Takes On...
Tracey Takes On... is an HBO sketch comedy series created by British-American comedienne Tracey Ullman.In 1993, Ullman returned to television after her hit Fox comedy series, The Tracey Ullman Show, was canceled, with two comedy specials for HBO. Tracey Ullman Takes On New York, and Tracey Ullman:...
, Mr. Show
Mr. Show
Mr. Show with Bob and David is an American sketch comedy series featuring former Saturday Night Live writer/actor Bob Odenkirk and stand up comedian/actor David Cross...
, and Arliss
Arliss
-Criticism:This show, which ran for seven seasons, is a prime example of how HBO differs from traditional networks due to its nature as a network its viewers specifically pay to be able to watch. Arliss was cited by so many viewers as the sole reason that they paid for the network that its...
. HBO did have a series that gained major success although not commercially as successful as shows on the Big Three networks and Fox the show did enjoy a cult status, critical acclaim, and did get nominated for and won many major awards. This series is The Larry Sanders Show
The Larry Sanders Show
The Larry Sanders Show is a satirical television sitcom that aired from August 1992 to May 1998 on the HBO cable television network in the United States. It starred stand-up comedian Garry Shandling as vain, neurotic talk show host Larry Sanders, and centered on the running of his TV show, and the...
and the show is arguably HBO's flagship series during the 90's and possibly the entire HBO time period before 1997. The show is the only HBO comedy to make TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time list and it was also on Time Magazine's list of 100 Best TV Shows of All Time and is ranked by various critics and fans as one of the best TV comedies of the 1990s. The series ranked #38 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time
TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time
TV Guides 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time is TV Guides list of the 50 most entertaining and influential television series in American pop culture...
, the only HBO comedy to make the list. It was also included in Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine's list of the "100 Best TV Shows of All Time." Other shows which subsequently aired on HBO, such as Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. As of 2011, it has completed 80 episodes over eight seasons. The series was created by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself...
, Extras, and Entourage
Entourage (TV series)
Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004 and concluded on September 11, 2011, after eight seasons...
, have used traits from the show.
Rising prominence of original programming (since 1997)
HBO has developed many original programs before and since 1997, which has earned the channel numerous Emmy awards. As a subscription-only service, HBO does not carry "normal" commercials; instead the network runs promotions for upcoming HBO programs and behind-the-scenes featurettes between programs. This relieves HBO from some pressures to tone down controversial aspects of its programs, and allows for explicit content, such as graphic violence, sex, and profanity, to be aired.Beginning in 1997, with its first one-hour dramatic narrative series Oz
Oz (TV series)
Oz is an American television drama series created by Tom Fontana, who also wrote or co-wrote all of the series' 56 episodes . It was the first one-hour dramatic television series to be produced by premium cable network HBO. Oz premiered on July 12, 1997 and ran for six seasons...
, HBO started a trend that became commonplace with premium cable providers. Although critically acclaimed, it was not until 1999, when their second one-hour narrative series The Sopranos
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
premiered, that the network achieved both critical mass and Emmy success. In its six-season run, The Sopranos received 111 Emmy nominations, resulting in 21 wins - two of them for the Emmy for Best Drama
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series
This page lists the winners and nominees for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, since its institution in 1951. The award is often cited as one of the "main awards" at the Emmys ceremonies, and has changed names many times in its history. It was first called Best Dramatic Show...
. In 1999, HBO became the first national cable TV network to broadcast a high-definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
simulcast channel. In July 2001, HBO launched the first premium subscription video-on-demand enhancement in the United States, called HBO on Demand, to Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
subscribers in Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
. A few years later in 2002, HBO launched a new show called The Wire
The WIRE
the WIRE is the student-run College radio station at the University of Oklahoma, broadcasting in a freeform format. The WIRE serves the University of Oklahoma and surrounding communities, and is staffed by student DJs. The WIRE broadcasts at 1710 kHz AM in Norman, Oklahoma...
, that although it did not surpass The Sopranos ratings wise it did however surpass it critically and academically and even more greatly further cemented HBO's reputation as being a network that produces quality programming. The series ran for five-seasons and six years.
HBO subscribers generally pay for an extra "tier" of service even before paying for the channel itself (though HBO often prices all of its channels together in a single package). However, federal law requires that a cable system allow a person to get just basic cable, local broadcast channels, Public, educational, and government access
Public, educational, and government access
Public, educational, and government access television, refers to three different cable television specialty channels...
(PEG) Channels and HBO, without subscribing to expanded service. Cable systems can require the use of a converter box (usually digital) to receive HBO.
Other networks and local syndication have re-aired several HBO programs (usually after some editing), and a number of HBO works have become available on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
. Since HBO's more successful series, most notably Sex and the City
Sex and the City
Sex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
, The Sopranos
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
, Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. As of 2011, it has completed 80 episodes over eight seasons. The series was created by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself...
, Entourage
Entourage (TV series)
Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004 and concluded on September 11, 2011, after eight seasons...
, Deadwood
Deadwood (TV series)
Deadwood is an American Western drama television series created, produced and largely written by David Milch. The series aired on the premium cable network HBO from March 21, 2004, to August 27, 2006, spanning three 12-episode seasons. The show is set in the 1870s in Deadwood, South Dakota, before...
, Six Feet Under, Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones (TV series)
Game of Thrones is an American medieval fantasy television series created for HBO by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. Based on author George R. R. Martin's best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels, the first of which is called A Game of Thrones, the television series debuted in...
, and True Blood
True Blood
True Blood is an American television series created and produced by Alan Ball. It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris, detailing the co-existence of vampires and humans in Bon Temps, a fictional, small town in the state of Louisiana...
, go to air on non-cable networks in other countries, such as in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and much of Europe, HBO programming has the potential of exposure to a higher percentage of the population of those countries as compared to the U.S. Because of the high cost of HBO, many Americans only view HBO programs on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s or in basic cable or broadcast syndication
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
, months or even years after the network has first broadcast the programs, and with editing for advertising time and content, although several series have filmed alternate 'clean' scenes meant for syndication runs.
, continuing a long-held policy, the primary HBO channel still does not run R-rated films or TV-MA rated programming before 8 p.m. (Eastern and Pacific), despite the existence of the V-chip
V-chip
V-chip is a generic term for technology used in television set receivers in the USA, Canada, and Brazil which allows the blocking of programs based on their ratings category. It is intended for use by parents to manage their children's television viewing...
and even after all of its rival premium services began including R-rated films on their daytime schedule as early as the mid-1980s. However, since 2010, a minimal amount of TV-MA rated programming, generally programs that contain some strong profanity and violence but are largely devoid of nudity, and graphic violent and/or sexual content (such as Real Time with Bill Maher
Real Time with Bill Maher
Real Time with Bill Maher is a talk show that airs weekly on HBO, hosted by comedian and political satirist Bill Maher. Much like his previous show, Politically Incorrect on ABC , Real Time features a panel of guests that discuss current events in politics and the media...
), has aired on weekends during the daytime hours on the main HBO channel. HBO's multiplex channels (excluding HBO Family, which does not run R-rated films or programs with a TV-MA rating at all) will air TV-MA and R-rated programming during the daytime. This policy may have once stemmed from the availability of HBO on analog cable tiers (while the multiplex channels generally required digital cable or at least scrambling).
Channels
The HBO pay service consists of seven multiplexMultiplex (TV)
A multiplex or mux is a group of TV channels that are mixed together for broadcast over a digital TV channel and separated out again by the receiver...
channels and a video on demand
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
service (HBO On Demand). HBO also packages the Eastern
North American Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
and Pacific
Pacific Time Zone
The Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 120th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. During daylight saving time, its time offset is UTC-7.In the United States...
feeds of the main channel together, allowing viewers a second chance to watch the same movie/program three hours later/earlier — depending on their geographic location. However, some cable systems only offer the main channel (and in some cases, HBO2) in this manner.
- HBO: The flagship service; it airs popular feature films, first-run films, boxing events and sports specials, original movies, original series, comedy specials and documentaries; also typically debuts new movies on Saturday nights. The main HBO channel will only air R-rated films and TV-MA rated programming after 8 p.m. ET/PT, but does air PG-13 rated films during the daytime hours, and a minimal amount of TV-MA rated programming has aired during the daytime hours on weekends.
- HBO2: Secondary channel, which features more movies, series, specials and original movies. HBO2 airs R-rated films during the day, unlike the main HBO channel. Launched in 1991, the channel was renamed HBO Plus in 1998, before reverting back to the HBO2 name in 2001. In Brazil and Latin America, a local version of HBO 2 repeats all the movies that original HBO channel plays, and HBO Plus functions as a separate channel.
- HBO Comedy: Features less-serious films and series, as well as rebroadcasts of HBO original comedy series and specials; airs R-rated films during the day, but only broadcasts adult comedy specials at night.
- HBO Family: Features movies and series aimed at a younger audience, as well as films for the whole family; airs series aimed at preschoolers during the morning hours; with specials and G, PG and PG-13 rated films starting at or after 12:30 p.m. ET/PT. Uniquely, it is one of only two HBO spin-offs with its own website, along with HBO Latino — all the others are integrated within the main HBO site. This channel will not show R-rated films or TV-MA rated programming.
- HBO Latino: A Spanish-language version of HBO for Spanish-speaking audiences, simulcasting much of the same programming seen on the main channel. This channel airs HBO productions, including original series dubbed in Spanish, as well as Hollywood blockbusters and Spanish-language films. Also airs boxing events, including the original boxing series Boxeo De Oro.
- HBO Signature: Features high quality films, HBO original series and specials; the channel was originally known as "HBO 3" from its 1991 launch until 1998, when the format changed completely from the similarities to HBO and HBO2 to movies, shows and specials targeted at a female audience.
- HBO Zone: This channel airs movies and HBO original programming aimed at the 18-35-year-old demographic. Also broadcasts adult-oriented programming at night, similar to those on Cinemax's Max After Dark block, the only HBO channel that does so.
HBO HD
HBO provides 1080i1080i
1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels...
high definition simulcast feeds of all seven of its multiplex channels. HBO HD is available on Cox Communications
Cox Communications
Cox Communications is a privately owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises providing digital cable television, telecommunications and wireless services in the United States...
, DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
, Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
, Dish Network
Dish Network
Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
, Xfinity (by Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
), AT&T U-verse, Verizon FiOS
Verizon FiOS
Verizon FiOS is a bundled Internet access, telephone, and television service which operates over a fiber-optic communications network. It is offered in some areas of the United States by Verizon Communications. Verizon was one of the first major U.S...
and several other major cable providers, although few providers offer all seven multiplex channels in HD.
The HBO family of networks
In 1991, HBO and Cinemax became the first premium services to offer multiplexedMultiplex (TV)
A multiplex or mux is a group of TV channels that are mixed together for broadcast over a digital TV channel and separated out again by the receiver...
services to cable customers as companions to the main network, offering multiplex services of HBO and Cinemax to three TeleCable cable systems in Overland Park, Kansas
Overland Park, Kansas
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 149,080 people, 59,703 households, and 39,702 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,627.0 people per square mile . There were 62,586 housing units at an average density of 1,102.9 per square mile...
, Richardson
Richardson, Texas
Richardson is a city in Dallas and Collin Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 99,223. In 2011 the population was estimated to be 107,684. Richardson is an affluent inner suburb of Dallas and home of the Telecom Corridor with a high...
and Plano, Texas
Plano, Texas
Plano is a city in the state of Texas, located mostly within Collin County. The city's population was 259,841 at the 2010 census, making it the ninth-largest city in Texas and the 71st most populous city in the United States. Plano is located within the metropolitan area commonly referred to as...
, and Racine, Wisconsin
Racine, Wisconsin
Racine is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city had a population of 82,196...
. A year later, research from A.C. Nielsen Co. showed that multiplex delivery of HBO and Cinemax had positive impact on subscriber usage and attitudes, including subscribers' retention of pay cable subscriptions. HBO2 was launched as a multiplex channel in 1992, launching on these three systems.
In 1995, HBO3 launched, and a year later HBO Family launched, becoming the first family-oriented multiplex service of a premium channel (Showtime, Starz and Encore have similar family-oriented multiplex channels). In April 1998 the HBO multiplex channels became collectively known as "HBO The Works", and the Cinemax channels became known as "MultiMax". Also, HBO2 and HBO3 underwent major rebrands: HBO2 was renamed HBO Plus, and HBO3 became HBO Signature (a network aimed at women). In May of the following year, HBO Comedy & HBO Zone (a network aimed at young adults) were launched and in 2000, HBO Latino, a Latino-themed channel of HBO launched (HBO also offered a Spanish-language enhancement called HBO En Español, airing select HBO programs in Spanish via second audio programming (SAP), that launched in 1988). Finally in 2002, HBO Plus reverted back to its original HBO2 name.
The HBO Multiplex became collectively known under the name "HBO The Works" for several years starting in 1998, while the Cinemax channels became known as "MultiMax". the HBO multiplex, individually, has no "official" name. However, HBO and Cinemax's respective multiplex packages are referred collectively as the "HBO/MAX Pak". Subscribers of DirecTV, Dish Network and some cable providers can get the Cinemax networks without subscribing to HBO, though most cable providers offer the two services and their respective multiplexes as a package.
HBO Family
HBO Family launched in 19961996 in television
The year 1996 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1996.For the American TV schedule, see: 1996-97 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-1950s:...
as a family-oriented multiplex channel of HBO. It was originally launched in 1990
1990 in television
For the American TV schedule, see: 1990-91 United States network television schedule.The year 1990 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1990.-Events:-Debuts:-1950s:...
as HBO For Kids and was rebranded under the "HBO Family" name six years later. HBO Family programming consists of educational and original programs for preschoolers from 6 a.m. to noon (Eastern and Pacific time). Programs during this time include The Road Runner Show
The Road Runner Show
The Road Runner Show was an animated anthology series which compiled theatrical Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner cartoons from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, which were produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons between 1948 and 1966. The Road Runner Show ran for two seasons on CBS , and then on ABC...
, Kids On, Crashbox
Crashbox
Crashbox is an educational children's television game show that airs on the HBO Family digital cable television channel in the United States. It aims to educate grade-school children in history, math, vocabulary, and other various subjects....
, Stuart Little
Stuart Little: The Animated Series
Stuart Little: The Animated Series is an animated television series, loosely based on the E.B. White children's book Stuart Little and more based on Stuart Little 's live-action film adaptations...
, Harold and the Purple Crayon
Harold and the Purple Crayon
Harold and the Purple Crayon is a 1955 children's book by Crockett Johnson. Johnson's most popular book, it led to a series of books, and inspired many adaptations.-Plot:...
, The Little Lulu Show
The Little Lulu Show
The Little Lulu Show is an animated television series, based on the Marjorie Henderson Buell comic book character Little Lulu. The show was produced by CINAR Animation after Marge's death in 1993, and aired on HBO Family and Cartoon Network in the United States and on , CTV, and the Family Channel...
, A Little Curious
A Little Curious
A Little Curious is a children's television show which has aired on HBO Family since 1998, lasting for just two seasons , and...
, George and Martha
George and Martha
George and Martha is an animated children's television show which comprises 26 episodes made in 1999. The program revolves around the lives of two hippos: George and Martha...
, Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child is an American animated television series that premiered March 26, 1995, on HBO. Narrated by Robert Guillaume, the series aired 39 episodes from 1995 to 2000, and is currently airing on the HBO Family digital cable television channel in the United...
, The Adventures of Paddington Bear
The Adventures of Paddington Bear
The Adventures of Paddington Bear was a Canadian/French animated childrens television series. It was based on the book Paddington Bear by Michael Bond and written by Bruce Robb. It was produced by Cinar and Protecrea. The show had 117 episodes....
, HBO Storybook Musicals
HBO Storybook Musicals
HBO Storybook Musicals is a series of television specials first airing on HBO, and now airing on HBO Family, combining animation that is true to the original storybook's illustrations, plus high-spirited songs from musical songwriters.-Episodes:...
and others; from 12 p.m. to 6 a.m. ET, the channel's schedule consists of G, PG and PG-13 rated movies, along with some original specials. No R-rated or TV-MA rated programs are broadcast on the channel. Times may vary depending on which feed (east or west) they are provided by their satellite or cable provider.
As of 2011, HBO Family's on-air look is the same as HBO's other multiplexed channels. Prior to 2011, HBO Family's on-air look was different from HBO's other multiplexed channels. Between programs until 2007, HBO Family provided graphic text at the end of promo spots displaying the date and time for the next airdate of that program, something that the original HBO had done but now is no longer provided in this format, HBO Family now only references most programs as airing this month or the following month with typically no reference to a specific air date and time. Also during the interstitial program
Interstitial program
In television programming, an interstitial program refers to a short program which is often shown between movies or other events, e.g. a cast interview after movies on premium channels...
ming, viewers of HBO Family are shown interstitials aimed at families and an HBO Family ID before a movie.
HBO Latino
HBO Latino was originally launched on January 2, 1989 as Selecciones en Español de HBO y Cinemax (Spanish selections from HBO and Cinemax), as the Spanish-language service from HBO. The service was originally restricted to Spanish language broadcasts of live boxing matches which HBO has rights for (except for others, already broadcast in Spanish on Galavisión and others), first-run movies from HBO's movie suppliers dubbed into Spanish (then HBO was still owned by Time, Inc. soon to be merged with Warner CommunicationsWarner Communications
Warner Communications or Warner Communications, Inc. was established in 1971 when Kinney National Company spun off its non-entertainment assets, due to a financial scandal over its parking operations and changed its name....
, to form Time Warner) and first-run Spanish-language movies (mostly from Mexico, Argentina and Spain). Selecciones en Español was renamed HBO en Español on September 27, 1993. It was eventually changed to its current name, HBO Latino on October 31, 2000. HBO Latino began to broadcast HBO original series dubbed into Spanish. Beginning in 2004, however, HBO Latino began to screen original Spanish-language programming (mostly from HBO Latin America). In 2006, it began to add Portuguese language programming to its schedule. The original boxing anthology series, Boxeo de Oro has been a staple of HBO Latino since its inception in 2000.
HBO Latino largely serves as a simulcast of the main HBO channel, albeit with the alternate Spanish-language audio track (that can also be accessed on the main HBO channel, via the Secondary Audio Program function on TVs and digital cable-ready converter boxes) dubbed over the program, but with limited program substitutions and differences in network promotions featured in-between programs. HBO Family, along with HBO Latino, have the distinction of being the only HBO spin-offs with their own websites; all the others are integrated within the main HBO site. The site includes schedules and more.
HBO on Demand
HBO on Demand is the video on demandVideo on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
counterpart to HBO; it offers movies, original series and specials previously seen on the network. The standard definition and high definition versions of the HBO on Demand service are available on most cable and satellite providers, delivered to customers who subscribe to the linear HBO channels at no additional charge. On January 3, 2011, HBO became the first premium channel and the first cable network to offer a 3D-only VOD service as it launched a subscription video on demand service offering select feature films in 3D to Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
and Verizon FiOS
Verizon FiOS
Verizon FiOS is a bundled Internet access, telephone, and television service which operates over a fiber-optic communications network. It is offered in some areas of the United States by Verizon Communications. Verizon was one of the first major U.S...
customers who subscribe to the HBO service.
HBO Go
On February 18, 2010, HBO launched HBO Go, a web site which features 600 hours of content available for streaming in standard or high definition. Content includes HBO original programming, movies, comedy specials, documentaries, sports, and late night adult programming. It is available to HBO subscribers of Verizon FIOSVerizon FiOS
Verizon FiOS is a bundled Internet access, telephone, and television service which operates over a fiber-optic communications network. It is offered in some areas of the United States by Verizon Communications. Verizon was one of the first major U.S...
, AT&T U-verse, Google TV
Google TV
Google TV is a Smart TV platform from Google. It was announced on May 20, 2010, at Google’s Google I/O event and was co-developed by Google, Intel, Sony and Logitech...
, Cox Communications
Cox Communications
Cox Communications is a privately owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises providing digital cable television, telecommunications and wireless services in the United States...
, Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
, DirecTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
, Dish Network
Dish Network
Dish Network Corporation is the second largest pay TV provider in the United States, providing direct broadcast satellite service—including satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services—to 14.337 million commercial and residential customers in the United States. Dish...
, Suddenlink Communications
Suddenlink Communications
Suddenlink Communications, formerly Cebridge Connections, is a top-10 cable broadband services provider in the United States with approximately 1.4 million subscribers. Suddenlink operates in 18 states in primarily medium-sized communities. With its corporate headquarters in St. Louis, MO,...
, and Charter Communications
Charter Communications
Charter Communications is an American company providing cable television, high-speed Internet, and telephone services to more than 4.7 million customers in 25 states. By revenues, it is the fourth-largest cable operator in the United States, behind Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Cox Communications...
. The HBO Go iPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
, iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
, and Android app launched on April 29, 2011. The app was downloaded over one million times in its first week, and had over three million downloads by the end of June 2011.
HBO Go is the successor to HBO on Broadband, originally launched in January 2008 to Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
customers in Green Bay
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...
and Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
. It featured 400 hours of movies and original series that could be downloaded to computers, at no extra charge for HBO subscribers; viewers had to be a digital cable customer who was an HBO subscriber, and used their cable company as their internet service provider. Programming included 130 movie titles that rotated monthly and top hits ranging from movies, series and specials.
On October 11, 2011, it was announced that HBO Go would be available through the Roku
Roku
Roku , is an American, privately held, consumer electronics company that sells home digital media products. The Company is based in Saratoga, California.- Company profile and products :...
streaming player, though under the same requirements that a cable or satellite subscription to HBO is required. It is unknown if there are any plans to offer HBO Go on a stand alone subscription basis like some channels are offered on Roku.
Original series
Since 1977, HBO has produced original programming, which includes dramas and comedies in addition to its slate of theatrical films. Most of these shows are rated TV-MA, and often feature suggestive themes and high amounts of profanityProfanity
Profanity is a show of disrespect, or a desecration or debasement of someone or something. Profanity can take the form of words, expressions, gestures, or other social behaviors that are socially constructed or interpreted as insulting, rude, vulgar, obscene, desecrating, or other forms.The...
, violence, and nudity - content that would be much more difficult to get on basic cable or over-the-air broadcast
Terrestrial television
Terrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which does not involve satellite transmission or cables — typically using radio waves through transmitting and receiving antennas or television antenna aerials...
channels, for fear of losing sponsors.
Movies
, HBO has exclusive deals with DreamWorks AnimationDreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. is an American animation studio based in Glendale, California that creates animated feature films, television program and online virtual worlds...
(which last until 2013, at which time the NetFlix
Netflix
Netflix, Inc., is an American provider of on-demand internet streaming media in the United States, Canada, and Latin America and flat rate DVD-by-mail in the United States. The company was established in 1997 and is headquartered in Los Gatos, California...
streaming service will assume pay-TV rights), Fox Searchlight, Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
, Focus Features
Focus Features
Focus Features is the art house films division of NBC Universal's Universal Pictures, and acts as both a producer and distributor for its own films and a distributor for foreign films....
, and network sister companies Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
and New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
. HBO also held rights to live-action films from DreamWorks Pictures, but it relinquished those rights at the end of 2010, when the distribution rights shifted from Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
to Touchstone Pictures
Touchstone Pictures
Touchstone Pictures is an American film production label and is one of several film labels of the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group. Established in 1984, its releases typically feature more mature themes and darker tones than those that are released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner.Touchstone...
(whose films are broadcast by Showtime through a distribution agreement with Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group). On May 2011, HBO announced a licensing agreement with Summit Entertainment
Summit Entertainment
Summit Entertainment LLC is an independent film studio headquartered in Santa Monica, California with international offices in London.-History:...
to obtain pay-cable rights to theatrically released films from the studio released between 2013 and 2017, after Summit's exclusive licensing deal with Showtime expires in late 2012.
HBO also shows sub-runs (runs of films that have already received broadcast network/syndicated television releases) of theatrical films from Viacom
Viacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
subsidiaries Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
and Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures was an independent film production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, operating from 1934 through 1959, and was best known for specializing in westerns, movie serials and B films emphasizing mystery and action....
, Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
, The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
, Sony Pictures, Fox Searchlight (select films from all five studios are shared with Starz and Encore), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
, DreamWorks Pictures, and Lionsgate
Lions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation is a North American entertainment company. The company was formed in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1997, and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California...
. Starting in 2008 and continuing so forth, HBO also has exclusive pay-cable rights to its own in-house theatrical films made through HBO Films
HBO Films
HBO Films is a division of the cable television network HBO that produces feature films and miniseries. While much of HBO Films' output is created directly for the television market, such as the film Witness Protection and the mini-series Band of Brothers, Pacific, Generation Kill and Angels in...
.
Usually films which HBO has pay-cable rights to will also run on Cinemax during its time of license, although some feature films from the aforementioned studios that HBO and Cinemax have broadcast rights to will make their premium television debut on Cinemax several weeks before its premiere on HBO.
Sports
As previously mentioned, HBO's first sports broadcast was of a New York Rangers1972–73 New York Rangers season
The 1972–73 New York Rangers season was the Rangers' 47th season.-Schedule and Results:The 1972–73 New York Rangers season was the Rangers' 47th season.-Schedule and Results:...
/ Vancouver Canucks
1972–73 Vancouver Canucks season
The 1972–73 Vancouver Canucks season was the team's 3rd in the NHL. Vancouver finished 7th in the East Division for the second consecutive season, failing to reach the playoffs again.-Game log:-Trophies and awards:...
game, transmitted to a CATV system in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania on November 8, 1972. HBO is known for its boxing match-ups including those shown on HBO World Championship Boxing. In 1975, the "Thrilla in Manila
Thrilla in Manila
The Thrilla in Manila was the third and final famous boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier for the Heavyweight Boxing Championship of the World, fought at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines on October 1, 1975....
" boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
match between Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
and Joe Frazier
Joe Frazier
Joseph William "Joe" Frazier , also known as Smokin' Joe, was an Olympic and Undisputed World Heavyweight boxing champion, whose professional career lasted from 1965 to 1976, with a one-fight comeback in 1981....
aired on HBO and was the first program on the pay-cable network to air via satellite. Also in 1975
1975 Wimbledon Championships
List of the 1975 Wimbledon champions:-Men's singles: Arthur Ashe def. Jimmy Connors, 6–1, 6–1, 5–7, 6–4*It was Ashe's 3rd career Grand Slam title, and his 1st Wimbledon title.-Women's singles: Billie Jean King def...
, HBO began airing coverage of Wimbledon and did so until 1999
1999 Wimbledon Championships
The 1999 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon in London in England...
. Coverage then moved to sister network TNT
Turner Network Television
Turner Network Television is an American cable television channel created by media mogul Ted Turner and currently owned by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner...
and later to ESPN2
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
.
In 1973, HBO aired a World Wide Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
event from Madison Square Garden, headlined by George Steele
George Steele
William James Myers , better known by his ring name George "The Animal" Steele is a former American professional wrestler and actor...
facing Pedro Morales
Pedro Morales
Pedro Morales is a retired Puerto Rican professional wrestler. He began his wrestling career as a teenager in 1959 and continued through to the late 1980s...
. The event has aired as part of the WWE 24/7 on-demand service. During the mid-1970s, HBO aired several NBA and ABA basketball games (notably, the last ABA Final in 1976, between the New York Nets and Denver Nuggets) as well as some NHL hockey games. HBO Sports also aired PBA
Professional Bowlers Association
The Professional Bowlers Association is the major sanctioning body for the sport of professional ten-pin bowling in the United States. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the PBA membership consists of almost 4,300 members worldwide...
bowling
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
events during the 1970s. Dick Stockton
Dick Stockton
Dick Stockton is an American sportscaster. He is currently employed by Fox Sports and Turner Sports as a football, baseball, and basketball play-by-play announcer.-Early life and career:...
was the play-by-play announcer and Skee Foremsky was the color commentator.
In 1977
1977 NFL season
The 1977 NFL season was the 58th regular season of the National Football League. The Seattle Seahawks were placed in the AFC West while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were slotted in the NFC Central....
, HBO launched Inside the NFL
Inside the NFL
Inside the NFL is a weekly cable television sports show that focuses on the National Football League. It originally aired on HBO from 1977 through 2008...
, the channel's longest-running program, but cancelled it in February 2008
2007 NFL season
The 2007 NFL season was the 88th regular season of the National Football League.Regular-season play was held from September 6 to December 30....
, with rival pay TV network Showtime picking up the series starting in September 2008
2008 NFL season
The 2008 NFL season was the 89th regular season of the National Football League, themed with the slogan "Believe in Now."Super Bowl XLIII, the league's championship game, was at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on February 1, 2009, with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming out victorious over the...
. HBO launched Boxing After Dark
Boxing After Dark
Boxing After Dark is an HBO boxing program, premiering in April 1996, that usually shows fights between well-known contenders, but usually not "championship" or "title" fights. Unlike its sister program, HBO World Championship Boxing, BAD features fighters who are usually moving up from ESPN's...
in 1996, showcasing some of boxing's newest talents. HBO currently operates HBO PPV (formerly TVKO) to broadcast boxing matches to pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
subscribers.
In 2001, HBO hired Bob Costas
Bob Costas
Robert Quinlan "Bob" Costas is an American sportscaster, on the air for the NBC network since the early 1980s.-Early life:...
to host a 12-episode sports show called On the Record with Bob Costas
On the Record with Bob Costas
On the Record with Bob Costas is a 12-week long talk show hosted by sportscaster Bob Costas. The show ran for four seasons on HBO from 2001 to 2004 before being revamped into Costas Now....
. A revamped version of On the Record began in 2005, Costas Now
Costas Now
Costas Now was an American monthly sports television show hosted by Bob Costas on HBO.-History:In 2001, Costas was hired by HBO to host a 12-week talk and interview series called On the Record with Bob Costas. In 2005, the program was revamped to become Costas Now, with more of a focus on sports...
, which ended its run in 2009. Both shows are very similar to another HBO sports show called Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel is a monthly sports newsmagazine on HBO that debuted on April 2, 1995. The show was "spawned by the fact that sports have changed dramatically, that it's no longer just fun and games, and that what happens off the field, beyond the scores, is worthy of some serious...
that currently runs on the network. The channel debuted another sports show Joe Buck Live
Joe Buck Live
Joe Buck Live was a talk show hosted by sportscaster Joe Buck. The show premiered on HBO on June 15, 2009 and ended on December 8, 2009, being cancelled three months later...
, hosted by longtime baseball commentator Joe Buck
Joe Buck
Joseph Francis "Joe" Buck is an American sportscaster and the son of legendary sportscaster Jack Buck. He has won numerous Sports Emmy Awards for his play-by-play work with Fox Sports.-Education:...
in 2009. HBO and NFL Films have also jointly produced Hard Knocks
Hard Knocks (TV series)
Hard Knocks is a reality sports documentary television series produced by NFL Films and HBO. The series follows a select National Football League team through its training camp and provides an in-depth perspective of the team's preparation for the upcoming season. The series is described as one of...
, which follows a team in training camp and their preparations for the upcoming NFL season. The series, which first premiered in 2001
2001 NFL season
The 2001 NFL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Football League.Following a pattern set in 1999, the first week of the season was permanently moved to the weekend following Labor Day...
, returned in August 2009 to document the Cincinnati Bengals
2009 Cincinnati Bengals season
The 2009 Cincinnati Bengals season was the 40th season for the team in the National Football League and their 42nd overall. They finished the season at 10–6–0, and sweeping the entire AFC North division, they improved on their 2008 record of 4–11–1, winning the AFC North Division and making the...
.
HBO Sports has been headed by several well-known television executives over the years, including Steve Powell (later head of Programming at ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
), Dave Meister (later head of The Tennis Channel
The Tennis Channel
Tennis Channel is an American speciality channel with programming devoted to the game of tennis. Founded in 2003, the network is owned by a group of investors including sports marketing firm IMG. Well known tennis professionals Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi are two of the many investors in this...
), Seth Abraham (later head of Madison Square Garden Sports) and Ross Greenburg
Ross Greenburg
Ross Greenburg was president of HBO Sports from 2000 to 2011.He was executive producer for HBO Sports in 1985. During his tenure he won 51 Sports Emmys and 8 Peabody Awards...
.
Documentaries
Many of HBO's documentary series appear under the America UndercoverAmerica Undercover
America Undercover is a television series of documentaries that airs on the cable television network HBO. Within the series are several sub-series, such as "Autopsy", "Real Sex" and "Taxicab Confessions". The series began in 1983 and, after a brief time being broadcast weekly in 2001, is now...
brand. Among the regular AU features are Real Sex
Real Sex
Real Sex is a television series broadcast on and a production of HBO. As its name implies, Real Sex is a sexually explicit "magazine" which "explores sex '90s style."...
and Autopsy
Autopsy (television series)
Autopsy is a television series of HBO's America Undercover documentary series. Dr. Michael Baden, a real-life forensic pathologist, is the primary analyst, and has been involved personally in many of the cases that are reviewed.-Episodes and cases:...
.
In 2004, guided by human rights activist Ansar Burney
Ansar Burney
Ansar Burney |Sindh]], Pakistan) is a leading Pakistani human rights and civil rights activist. He is a graduate of Masters and Law from Karachi University and honorary recipient of a PhD. in Philosophy...
, an HBO team for Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel is a monthly sports newsmagazine on HBO that debuted on April 2, 1995. The show was "spawned by the fact that sports have changed dramatically, that it's no longer just fun and games, and that what happens off the field, beyond the scores, is worthy of some serious...
used a hidden camera to document slavery and torture in secret desert camps where boys under the age of five were trained to race camels, a national sport in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This half-hour investigative report exposed a carefully hidden child slavery ring that bought or kidnapped hundreds of young boys in Pakistan and Bangladesh. These boys were then forced to become camel jockeys
Camel racing
Camel racing is a popular sport in India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Australia, and Mongolia. Professional camel racing, like horse racing, is an event for betting and tourist attraction...
in the UAE. The report also questioned the sincerity of U.S. diplomacy in pressuring an ally, the UAE, to comply with its own stated policy of banning the use of children under 15 from camel racing.
The documentary won a Sports Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
in 2004 for "Outstanding Sports Journalism" and the 2006 Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Award for outstanding broadcast journalism. It also brought world attention to the plight of child camel jockeys in the Middle East and helped Ansar Burney Trust to convince the governments of Qatar and the UAE to end the use of children in this sport.
HBO is also noted for its Sports of the 20th Century documentary brand. One of its most recent documentaries was Dare to Dream about the U.S. Women's Soccer Team and their effort to make a difference. This documentary featured Mia Hamm
Mia Hamm
Mariel Margaret "Mia" Hamm is a retired American soccer player. Hamm played many years as a forward for the United States women's national soccer team and was a founding member of the Washington Freedom. Hamm has scored more international goals in her career than any other player, male or female,...
, Kristine Lilly
Kristine Lilly
Kristine Marie Lilly Heavey is a retired American soccer player who last played for Boston Breakers of Women's Professional Soccer and was a member of the United States women's national soccer team for 24 years...
, Brandi Chastain
Brandi Chastain
Brandi Denise Chastain is a professional American soccer defender and midfielder who plays for the team California Storm of Women's Premier Soccer League and is a former member of the United States women's national soccer team....
, Joy Fawcett, and Julie Foudy.
In 2006, film director Spike Lee
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....
made a four-hour documentary on Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
called When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, which was broken up into two parts. Also in 2006, documentary artist Lauren Greenfield
Lauren Greenfield
Lauren Greenfield is an American artist, documentary photographer, and documentary filmmaker. She has published three monographs of her photographic work, directed four documentary films, exhibited her photographic prints in museums throughout the world, and had her work published in a variety of...
directed a feature length film about four young women struggling with eating disorders in the Renfrew Clinic in Florida, called Thin
Thin (film)
The 2006 cinéma vérité documentary film, THIN, directed by Lauren Greenfield and distributed by HBO, is an exploration of The Renfrew Center in Coconut Creek, Florida; a 40-bed residential facility for the treatment of women with eating disorders. The film mostly revolves around four women with...
. 2008 saw the US television premiere of the documentary film Baghdad High, which depicted the lives of four boys attending a high school in Baghdad, Iraq, over the course of one year in the form of a video diary. The documentary was filmed by the boys themselves, who were given video cameras for the project.
In November 2008, HBO paid low seven figures for U.S. TV rights to Amy Rice and Alicia Sams's documentary, By the People: The Election of Barack Obama. It covers Obama's 2006 trip to Africa, his presidential primary campaign, the 2008 general election and his inauguration. The documentary has been released to theatres in New York and Los Angeles and aired in November 2009.
Branding
When the network launched in 1972, HBO's logo featured the channel's full name "HOME BOX OFFICE" and a ticket stub surrounded by a marquee light design. In 1975, it began using an uppercase 'HBO' with a circle inside the 'O'; however for the first few years, the logo featured the 'O' cutting into the 'B'. The logo was modified in 1980 (not completely replacing the original until 1981) when HBO started using the current version of the logo with the 'B' and the 'O' still attached to each other but with the 'O' no longer intercutting the 'B'. The simplicity of the logo makes it fairly easy to duplicate, something HBO has taken advantage of many times over the years.The logo became iconic due to what is perhaps the network's most famous program-opening sequence, "HBO in Space", used from 1982 until 1997, and produced by Liberty Studios
Liberty Studios
Liberty Studios is the longest-running production house in continuous operation in New York City producing films, video, advertising and e-commerce productions. The studio was founded in 1963 by Anthony Lover. Liberty Studios has received both Emmy and Academy Award nominations.Liberty's most...
of New York City in 1982 and debuted on the network later that year. The original full version begins with a look in a window at a family (sometimes only a husband and wife) sitting down to watch TV, with their cable box and/or TV tuned to HBO (that part was later replaced with a cloudscape). It then pans and flies through a cityscape and into the countryside and then moves up into outer space, where a starburst appears and the HBO logo (in starship form) appears and rotates toward the camera before multi-colored beams move around the "O" and take the camera inside it, where the type of program is revealed (generally the feature presentation). For many years, HBO also used a shortened version of this opening sequence which began with a fade in to show the starry night sky. The starburst (or stargate effect) occurs, and the logo flies towards you as in the regular opening. Several versions of the intro appear on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, including one posted by HBO's official YouTube channel. The accompanying fanfare, originally composed by Ferdinand Jay Smith III of Jay Advertising
Jay Advertising
Jay Advertising is an integrated advertisingand marketing agency. Listed as a mid-sized agency headquartered in Rochester, New York, Jay Advertising also has offices in New York City, Detroit, and Los Angeles....
for Score Productions
Score Productions
Score Productions is an American musical production company specializing in background music and themes for television programs. Started in 1963 by music producer Robert A...
, has been re-orchestrated several times over the years, with arrangements from the traditional horns to piano. The current feature presentation bumper still uses a modified version of this theme.
Another famous HBO ID, "Neon Lights," designated non-8 p.m. movies from December 1986 to 1997. The sequence, set to an electric guitar theme, begins with a purple HBO logo on a vertical filmstrip as light rays shoot through it; the camera then pans around several CG slots glowing in blue, green and pink until a light flash hits several spheres glowing in various rainbow colors. The spheres zoom out forming the HBO logo in light purple with "Movie" written in cursive in magenta with the rainbow spheres on a black background behind the words.
Between 1997 and 1999 HBO used several "Feature Presentation" opens which showed the HBO logo in different situations, such as a fish in water, a celebrity in a limo, a large HBO logo chasing a man, and on the rooftop of a building.
The next HBO "Feature Presentation" bumper used from 1999 until April 1, 2011 also used CGI graphics. The version seen every day featured the camera flying over ground as spotlights rapidly turn on, one by one. The camera suddenly slows, begins to face the "ground" and reveals a HBO logo-shaped lake, and the words "Feature Presentation" appear one by one, in 3D. The full version, only seen during Saturday night movie premieres, began on a city street, showing a movie theater marquee
Marquee (sign)
A marquee is most commonly a structure placed over the entrance to a hotel or theatre. It has signage stating either the name of the establishment or, in the case of theatres, the play or movie and the artist appearing at that venue...
which reads "HBO FEATURE PRESENTATION" in all caps. The camera zooms into a box office booth and then flashes, changes scenery and zooms through a country road passing under a "H"-shaped tower, then a snowy mountain road jumping over a drop-down cliff, and goes through a "B"-shaped tunnel on the other side, then rapidly coming upon a desert road catching up to a "O"-shaped tanker truck. It then appears in a urban neighborhood with skyscrapers visible in the background passing by houses and stores, and a city bus. The road becomes a bridge, coming upon the downtown of the city, bypassing the buildings seen earlier. The same animation that is seen in the more common shorter version then plays as usual.
The current HBO "Feature Presentation" bumper used since April 2, 2011 features a blue aurora background, the HBO logo, and the words "Feature Presentation".
HBO bucks the general trend in pay-TV networks (including the themed networks of sister channel Cinemax) and does not brand programming with digital on-screen graphic
Digital on-screen graphic
A digital on-screen graphic is a watermark-like station logo that many television broadcasters overlay over a portion of the screen-area of their programs to identify the channel...
logos of the main network and each respective theme channel.
Slogans
Source:- November 1972–August 1975: "This is HBO, the Home Box Office. Premium Subscription Television from Time-Life."
- August 1975–June 1976: "Different and First"
- June 1976–May 1978: "The Great Entertainment Alternative"
- May 1978–October 1979: "The Home Box"
- October 1979–February 1982: "HBO People Don't Miss Out"
- February 1982–March 1984: "Start with Us on HBO"/"America's Leading Premium Television Network"/"All the Day, Premium Television, HBO"
- March 1984–June 1985: "There's No Place Like HBO"
- June 1985–July 1988: "Let's All Get Together"
- July 1988–February 1989: "Watch Us Here on HBO"
- February 1989–July 1990: "Nobody Brings It Home Like HBO" (used alternatively between 1988 and 1989)
- October 1989–November 1990: "Simply The Best", used song "The BestThe Best (song)"The Best" is a song written by Mike Chapman and Holly Knight, originally recorded by Bonnie Tyler on her 1988 release Hide Your Heart, in reference to Tom Mason. The single reached reaching #10 in Norway and Portugal, #34 in Spain and #95 in the UK....
" by Tina TurnerTina TurnerTina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
as image theme - November 1990–November 1992: "The Best Time on TV"/"The Best Movies"
- November 1992–October 1993: "We're HBO"
- October 1993–September 1995: "We're Out of Town Today"
- September 1995–October 1996: "Something Special's On"
- October 1996–April 2009: "It's Not TV. It's HBO."
- 2006–2009: "Get More" (slogan for the HBO website)
- April 2009–present: "It's More Than You Imagined. It's HBO."
- 2010–present: "This is HBO." (only used for IDs)
- 2011–present: "It's HBO."
Other ventures
HBO has expanded considerably with its HBO and Cinemax family of networks as well as influencing television- and film-production.In 1990, HBO launched HBO Independent Productions, a production company that produced mainly sitcoms for broadcast and basic cable television, including Martin
Martin (TV series)
Martin is an American sitcom produced by HBO Independent Productions that aired for five seasons, from August 27, 1992 to May 1, 1997 on Fox...
, Roc
Roc (TV series)
Roc is an American comedy-drama television series which ran on Fox from August 1991 to May 1994. The series stars Charles S. Dutton as Baltimore garbage collector Roc Emerson and Ella Joyce as his wife Eleanor.-Early episodes:...
and Everybody Loves Raymond
Everybody Loves Raymond
Everybody Loves Raymond is an American television sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005. Many of the situations from the show are based on the real-life experiences of lead actor Ray Romano, creator/producer Phil Rosenthal and the show's writing staff...
(distributed by CBS Television Distribution
CBS Television Distribution
CBS Television Distribution is a global television distribution company, formed from the merger of CBS Corporation's two domestic television distribution arms CBS Paramount Domestic Television and King World Productions, including its home entertainment arm CBS Home Entertainment...
). HBO Downtown Productions launched a year later, producing comedy specials for the network as well as content for Comedy Central (which HBO formerly co-owned).
HBO also operates HBO Films
HBO Films
HBO Films is a division of the cable television network HBO that produces feature films and miniseries. While much of HBO Films' output is created directly for the television market, such as the film Witness Protection and the mini-series Band of Brothers, Pacific, Generation Kill and Angels in...
, established in 1999 as a reconfiguration and consolidation of its former movie divisions, HBO NYC Productions and HBO Pictures. HBO also operated another film-division called HBO Showcase, which ceased in 1996 to become HBO NYC Productions.
HBO has participated in a number of joint venture
Joint venture
A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...
s:
- TriStar PicturesTriStar PicturesTriStar Pictures, Inc. is an American film production/distribution studio and subsidiary of Columbia Pictures, itself a subdivision of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, which is owned by Sony Pictures...
: In 1982, HBO joint-ventured with Columbia PicturesColumbia PicturesColumbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
and CBS Theatrical FilmsCBS Theatrical FilmsCBS Theatrical Films was the film production branch of the U.S. television network, CBS, in the 1980s. CBS began its theatrical films operation in 1979, headed by Donald March, and turned the operation into the separate CBS Theatrical Films division in 1980. The company was active from 1979 to...
to form a motion picture studio: Tri-Star (the hyphen disappeared later). HBO, CBS and Columbia decided to pool resources to split the ever-growing costs of making movies. Their first production, The NaturalThe Natural (film)The Natural is a 1984 film adaptation of Bernard Malamud's 1952 baseball novel of the same name, directed by Barry Levinson and starring Robert Redford, Glenn Close and Robert Duvall...
, was released in 1984. CBS sold its stake in the studio in 1985. In April 1987, Tri-Star entered into the television business as Tri-Star Television. In December 1987, HBO dropped out of the Tri-Star venture and Columbia Pictures bought their venture shares and merged Columbia and Tri-Star into Columbia Pictures Entertainment. Sony Pictures EntertainmentSony Pictures EntertainmentSony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. is the television and film production/distribution unit of Japanese multinational technology and media conglomerate Sony...
continues to use the name "TriStar". - In 2005, HBO Films and New Line CinemaNew Line CinemaNew Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
launched Picturehouse, a worldwide theatrical distribution company for high-quality independent filmIndependent filmAn independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
s. The company shut down in 2008 as part of the consolidation of New Line with its sister studio Warner Bros.Warner Bros.Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
Merchandising
Various products have used the HBO trademark. In 2005, HBO launched a deal with Cingular Wireless (now AT&TAT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
) to establish HBO Mobile. HBO Mobile, a pay service feature much like the cable network itself, features information on HBO original series such as The Sopranos
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
, Sex and the City
Sex and the City
Sex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
and others, including episode guides, wallpapers and ringtones voiced by cast-members of HBO series.
In 2005, a version of the DVD interactive game Scene It was released by Mattel
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...
, tailored to the HBO network itself; it features trivia on various HBO series.
Festival
Tony Randall
Tony Randall was a U.S. actor, comic, producer and director.-Early years:Randall was born Arthur Leonard Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Julia and Mogscha Rosenberg, an art and antiques dealer...
in-between programs. Festival's slogan was Quality Entertainment You Welcome Home. But only a few cable systems carried Festival and the channel went dark in 1988.
In 1996, HBO re-entered the family premium channel arena with HBO Family, a channel similar to Festival.
Programming on Festival included:
- Hollywood Classics - fondly remembered movies from the great studios
- Star Salutes - collections of movies linked by a selected movie-star
- Centerstage - "Here's Your Front Row Seat for Great Entertainment" which included:
- concerts by the likes of Olivia Newton John, Carly SimonCarly SimonCarly Elisabeth Simon is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records, and has since been the recipient of two Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award for her work...
, Fats DominoFats DominoAntoine Dominique "Fats" Domino, Jr. is an American R&B and rock and roll pianist and singer-songwriter. He was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Creole was his first language....
, etc. - comedy with Jackie MasonJackie MasonJackie Mason is an American stand-up comedian and movie actor.-Early life:Born Yacov Moshe Maza in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, he grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City....
, Red SkeltonRed SkeltonRichard Bernard "Red" Skelton was an American comedian who is best known as a top radio and television star from 1937 to 1971. Skelton's show business career began in his teens as a circus clown and went on to vaudeville, Broadway, films, radio, TV, night clubs and casinos, all while pursuing...
, Bill CosbyBill CosbyWilliam Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...
, Jerry SeinfeldJerry SeinfeldJerome Allen "Jerry" Seinfeld is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and television and film producer, known for playing a semi-fictional version of himself in the situation comedy Seinfeld , which he co-created and co-wrote with Larry David, and, in the show's final two seasons,...
, etc. - ice-skating shows
- concerts by the likes of Olivia Newton John, Carly Simon
- Documentaries - nature shows, biographies, etc.
- Recent hit movies - also commercial-free; however, R-rated movies that were shown were edited to fit a "PG" rating for the Festival channel.
International
Since 1991, HBO has overseen a number of partnerships that operate HBO-branded programming-networks around the globe. As HBO was launched in new markets the brand has been used in several countries.- HBO CanadaHBO CanadaHBO Canada is a Canadian television channel, which airs programming sourced from the HBO subscription service in the United States. HBO Canada is not available as a standalone channel, but as one channel within the TMN and Movie Central multiplexes....
, launched on October 30, 2008 by the Canadian movie services Movie CentralMovie CentralMovie Central is a Canadian English language Category A premium television service. Movie Central is designated to operate west of the Ontario-Manitoba border, including the territories...
and The Movie NetworkThe Movie NetworkThe Movie Network is a Canadian English language Category A premium television service, owned by Astral Media. The service is licensed to operate east of the Ontario-Manitoba border, excluding the territories...
, is a dedicated multiplex channel carried on both services. Beyond the required brand licenseBrand licensingLicensing means renting or leasing of an intangible asset. Examples of intangible assets include a song , a character , a name or a brand . An arrangement to license a brand requires a licensing agreement...
by Astral MediaAstral MediaAstral Media Inc. is a Canadian media corporation. It is Canada's largest radio broadcaster with 83 radio stations in eight provinces, and is a major player in premium and specialty television in Canada, including The Movie Network, Super Écran, Family, Teletoon, Canal D, Canal Vie, VRAK.TV,...
(owner of The Movie Network) and Corus EntertainmentCorus EntertainmentCorus Entertainment Inc. is a publicly traded Canadian media and entertainment conglomerate.Corus is a leading Canadian specialty television and radio producer, with additional assets in pay television, advertising services, television broadcasting, children's book publishing and children's...
(owner of Movie Central) to use the HBO trademarks and logomark, Time Warner does not own HBO Canada and has no stake in the network. The channel carries HBO's original programming (though some programming on the network also includes programs that air in the United States on HBO's rival Showtime). It also airs a selection of Canadian films and series to satisfy Canadian content requirements. - HBO AsiaHBO AsiaHBO Asia is a franchise of HBO in Asia. HBO Asia is now a joint venture of media giants Viacom and Time Warner . Sony Pictures Entertainment and Universal Studios exited the fifteen year-old HBO Asia premium movie joint venture on January 16, 2008....
was originally co-owned by UIP Pay TVUnited International PicturesUnited International Pictures is a joint venture of Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios , to distribute some of the two studios' films theatrically outside the United States , Canada, and the Anglophone...
, Sony Pictures EntertainmentSony Pictures EntertainmentSony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. is the television and film production/distribution unit of Japanese multinational technology and media conglomerate Sony...
, Time WarnerTime WarnerTime Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
and SingTelSingapore TelecommunicationsSingapore Telecommunications Limited , commonly abbreviated as SingTel, is a Singaporean telecommunications company, with a combined mobile subscriber base of 416 million customers from its own operations and regional associates in 25 countries at end of June 2011 increased by 19 percent from a...
. - HBO Brasil was launched in 1991 by TVATelevisão AbrilTVA - Televisão Abril is a Brazilian subscription television operator, working with Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service analog system, analog cable and digital cable...
, Time Warner and Sony as an analogue pay channel, but using OTAOver-the-air programmingOver-the-air programming refers to various methods of distributing new software updates or configuration settings to devices like cellphones and set-top boxes...
UHF frequencies and broadcasting nine hours a day. After the Brazilian financial crisis of the late-1990s, TVA sold its share to Time Warner. - HBO Central EuropeHBO Central EuropeHBO Central Europe is a premium pay television service operating in eleven countries in Central and Eastern Europe: Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Moldova, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. The headquarters are located in...
(Poland, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, and Montenegro). - HBO Adria (Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, and Montenegro, as part of HBO Central EuropeHBO Central EuropeHBO Central Europe is a premium pay television service operating in eleven countries in Central and Eastern Europe: Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Moldova, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. The headquarters are located in...
). - HBO OLE (now HBO Latin America), was originated as a partnership between Venezuelan broadcaster Omnivisión and HBO. Then Sony and The Walt Disney Company joined the partnership. Later, Omnivisión sold its share to Time Warner.
- Movie NetworkMovie NetworkMovie Network Channels is an Australian premium television movie service that consists of five original channels , two SD timeshifts and three HD simulcasts...
an Australian premium television service launched in 1995, was founded by HBO (Time WarnerTime WarnerTime Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
), Village Roadshow, MGM and Disney-ABC International TelevisionDisney-ABC International TelevisionDisney-ABC International Television is responsible for The Walt Disney Company's branded and non-branded filmed entertainment distribution, now distributing more than 30,000 hours of content to over 1300 broadcasters across 240 territories worldwide.The television distributor licenses movies from...
. - Sky MoviesSKY Movies (New Zealand)Sky Movies is a group of subscription television movie channels in New Zealand operated by Sky Network Television. The original channel, Sky Movies was launched in 1990. A sister channel, Sky Movies 2 was launched towards the end of the 1990s. This was followed by the launch of Sky Movies Greats in...
(New Zealand) was originally a joint-venture between HBO and Sky Network TelevisionSKY Network TelevisionSky Network Television Limited , , is a New Zealand pay television service. On 30 June 2011, Sky had 829,421 subscribers, which comprises:*808,617 digital subscribers*20,840 other subscribers...
. The channel was renamed HBO in 1993, but Time Warner sold its share to Sky in 1998 and was renamed back to Sky Movies. - HBO Caribbean offers English-language broadcasts of HBO material geared towards the English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean. HBO set up the channel to replace the Spanish foreign-language feed which formerly served the English-speaking Caribbean market. The cable-TV systems of Columbus CommunicationsColumbus CommunicationsColumbus Communications is a cable television and telecommunications company based in Freeport, Bahamas, serving markets in the Caribbean and Latin America....
, Cable Bahamas, and Multi-Choice TVMulti-Choice TV (Barbados)The television service provider known as Multi-Choice TV or MCTV is a MMDS or DVB-C wireless microwave based broadcast subscription television provider in the country of Barbados. They offer a variety of packages which can be considered as comparatively priced to similar providers throughout the...
(among others) sell HBO Caribbean. - In 2005, the HBO Mobile wireless service launched via Vodafone in the UK, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and South Africa, and via SK Telecom in Korea in 2006. In 2006, HBO's SVOD service, HBO On Demand, launched in Israel on HOTHot (Israel)HOT Telecommunication Systems Ltd. is a company that provides cable television, last-mile Internet access, broadband and telecommunication services in Israel. It also provides various data transmission services and network services at different rates, services to the business sector and other...
, marking the first HBO stand-alone service offered outside the U.S. The service was launched in the UK in 2007 via BT VisionBT VisionBT Vision is a hybrid IPTV-digital terrestrial television service provided by BT Group in the United Kingdom which was launched in December 2006...
, TalkTalk TV and Virgin MediaVirgin MediaVirgin Media Inc. is a company which provides fixed and mobile telephone, television and broadband internet services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom...
. Following in 2008 was Cyprus launching HBO On Demand via PrimeTv of PrimeTel Ltd. - In February 2011, audiences within the UK and Ireland will be able to watch the majority of HBO programming on one channel with the launch of Sky AtlanticSky AtlanticSky Atlantic is a television channel owned by British Sky Broadcasting, which launched on 1 February 2011 on Sky in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland....
on the Sky platform in both territories. Under a five year broadcasting agreement between HBO and Sky, all new HBO programming will air on the channel before airing on other television channels within the United Kingdom and channels in Ireland.
See also
- Captain Midnight (HBO)Captain Midnight (HBO)John R. MacDougall also known as Captain Midnight, is a Florida electronic engineer and business owner who jammed HBO's satellite signal in 1986 to broadcast a message protesting their rates for satellite dish owners.- Scrambling :...
, for a 1986 incident where HBO's signal was jammed to protest the scrambling of their signal for satellite dish users - HBO BoxingHBO BoxingHBO World Championship Boxing is a sports television series, premiering in January 1973 that has shown a number of significant boxing events in the last three decades....
- HBO FilmsHBO FilmsHBO Films is a division of the cable television network HBO that produces feature films and miniseries. While much of HBO Films' output is created directly for the television market, such as the film Witness Protection and the mini-series Band of Brothers, Pacific, Generation Kill and Angels in...
- List of HBO video releases
- List of past and present HBO shows
- On LocationOn Location (TV series)On Location is a series from Home Box Office . The series premiered in 1976 and features stand-up comedy with George Carlin, David Brenner, Redd Foxx, Rich Little, Robin Williams, Phyllis Diller, Buddy Hackett, Billy Crystal, Pat Cooper and more...
- Standing Room OnlyStanding Room Only (TV series)Standing Room Only was an entertainment series on Home Box Office that premiered in 1976. Shows featured concerts, burlesque shows, ventriloquism programs, magic shows and more....