IT'S NOT TV

How a paid-TV novelty rose to prominence.

Media reporters Gillette and Koblin begin with the launch of the Home Box Office network, which “sputtered” to life in 1972 with only 375 subscribers. During the early years of cable TV, HBO sought to distinguish itself with innovative satellite technology, broadcasting the iconic 1975 boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. By the early 1980s, HBO began test-marketing more late-night adult programming (“low-cost enticement to male viewers”) and sexuality documentaries, thanks to Emmy Award–winning documentary filmmaker Sheila Nevins, alongside its live broadcasts of major sporting events. Despite the success of scripted shows like Tales From the Crypt and Dream On, a series of missed opportunities prevented HBO from rising even higher. Showtime cut into HBO’s business in 1986 when they bought It’s Gary Shandling’s Show, which HBO passed on, but the 1990s and early 2000s ushered in original series blockbusters like Sex and the City, Oz, and The Sopranos, which buoyed parent company Time Warner. As viewership evolved, so did the need for networks to bring in something new and groundbreaking. HBO’s profits were declining due to the new DVD delivery service, Netflix, and executives were forced to swallow their pride at not acquiring the startup when they had the chance in 2006. As Netflix exploded, HBO entered the streaming arena with the HBO Go service, which soon morphed into HBO Max in 2020. Throughout their comprehensively detailed account, Gillette and Koblin remain fair-minded in their reportage, accentuating not only HBO’s successes, but also its many failures. Though their brisk narrative is straightforward, it contains plenty of business melodrama. The authors offer profiles of the network executives that helped usher in successful eras, including Time Warner CEO Gerald Levin, who excelled as a shrewd mass-media businessman, and agent Chris Albrecht, whose interpersonal problems became a publicity nightmare. Pair with James Andrew Miller’s Tinderbox.

Entertainment buffs will find this report of a risk-taking network fascinating.