"Storytelling" is the star... The word was dropped a disproportionate 4 times in the AT&T press release about HBO Max, the new streaming service launching in the spring of 2020. The storytellers — including Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon — will create original shows for HBO. But the real unspoken highlight is the unoriginal.
Reruns are HBO Max's differentiator... AT&T acquired HBO's parent, Time Warner, last year. So it now owns (and will include in HBO Max) a wealth of "the-one-where-she-did-BLANK"-style episodes.
- Time Warner icons: Warner Bros, TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Looney Tunes.
- HBO legends: Game of Thrones, The Sopranos, The Wire, Sex and the City, Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Reruns are Netflix's Achilles heel... Netflix has poured billions annually into original content, but this stat reveals a dramatic problem: 8 of the top 10 shows on Netflix aren't Netflix originals. It's definitely losing its #1 and #2 most-streamed shows — The Office to NBC in 2021 and Friends to HBO Max in 2020 — just as HBO Max reruns itself.