<span style="font-size:18pt;">EXCLUSIVE: HBO subscribers dwindling</span>

<span style="font-size:13pt;">DirecTV deal impasse just part of the problem</span>

<span style="font-size:9pt;">By Andrew Wallenstein</span>

<span style="font-size:120%;">The channel that turned vampire killers into hit television is quietly facing the draining of its own lifeblood: subscribers.

2010 would seen have the makings of a big year for HBO given the tentpole programs it launched in the first two quarters of the year: "True Blood," which wrapped up its third season Sunday as the network's highest rated series, and "The Pacific," the WWII miniseries that won more awards at last month's Emmys than any other production.

And yet HBO had 28.6 million subscribers in the second quarter of 2010, according to newly released numbers from SNL Kagan, its lowest total in four years and the second of its first back-to-back quarterly declines in at least six years.

So if HBO is so hot, how come its subscriber base is dwindling?

Continue reading here.</span>

Edited September 13, 201015 yr by Sylph

Personally I think HBO is expensive and not worth the money paid for it.

Thank God, for Rogers On Demand!

Personally I think HBO is expensive and not worth the money paid for it.

I second that.

HBO used to be good many years ago, now they show movies you can see on regular cable channels. My cable co. charges like an extra $30 for premium channels and they barely show anything good.

HBO just produces a ton of trash now. Bad trash, not the good kind. So this is just a payoff. For a few years there it had some good content, but now they're starting to look like everybody else.

I wonder if they are still kicking themselves for not picking up "Mad Men" - they should be.

HBO just produces a ton of trash now. Bad trash, not the good kind. So this is just a payoff. For a few years there it had some good content, but now they're starting to look like everybody else.

ITA - except for TRUE BLOOD it has no more "it"-shows on its staple. And you could argue whether a vampire show is that unique which 1000 of trashy novels floating around.

Shotime and some cablers now make much better drama series...

I think True Blood is also very trashy. Meaning, people who watched The Sopranos are probably appalled looking at that big, fat ton of camp and excess. They must find it revolting, surely. Whether it's a good or a bad show, that's a different matter, but trashy it sure is.

I think True Blood is also very trashy. Meaning, people who watched The Sopranos are probably appalled looking at that big, fat ton of camp and excess. They must find it revolting, surely. Whether it's a good or a bad show, that's a different matter, but trashy it sure is.

I thought The Sopranos was trash as well. Maybe not in the same vein, but ...

Edited September 13, 201015 yr by Amello

A trashy TV version of The Godfather, e.g.?

A trashy TV version of The Godfather, e.g.?

Yes.

I'm hoping Boardwalk Empire won't disappoint.

The Sopranos became the worst kind of trash -- the kind that is taken seriously and takes itself seriously.

I haven't had HBO in years, because I don't have enough interest in their shows. I can just rent them on DVD, although I think HBO is also upset with Netflix now so that might change. If it does I just won't watch them at all. The last show I was interested in was Six Feet Under.

I miss the more fun, silly HBO, the kind that was not seen in as great a light. Stuff like Arli$$, or Tracey Takes On, or Autopsy, or their series on things like workplace rage and the death penalty and the mind of a killer -- a lot of their documentary shows were ahead of their time.

I also miss truly groundbreaking shows like Oz, not the pretentious, hollow stuff that came post-Sopranos.

Edited September 13, 201015 yr by CarlD2

From what I can remember, only Oz and Six Feet Under are shows I consider my favourites. Everything else ... meh.

Ew! Arli$$ was awful!

But yes, The Sopranos took itself way too seriously and that wasn't helped by an army of people wanting to be all clever and well-read liking it etc.

The Godfather too is one of the most overrated films in history. So, bad role model = bad end result.