Word: hbo
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...World Series and Super Bowl; viewers who now see them free would then have to pay to watch. Speaking privately, however, other network bosses often boast that their operations so dwarf those of any cable operator that for the moment they can loftily ignore cable. Nonetheless, predicts HBO's Levin, as cable presents better programming, "it will be harder for the networks to aggregate the kind of audiences they are accustomed to." In other words, the hot new network sitcom of, say, 1985 may draw a few million fewer viewers than the 50 million who now watch Mork & Mindy...
Karp was quick to appreciate the advantages of pay cable. As soon as HBO went on the satellite he bought its service to offer to Teleprompter subscribers. "Before the satellite," he says, "we had to rely on bicycling tapes and film around the country. Suddenly the satellite made possible the idea of buying programming for the entire nation. We could offer new services and look to new sources of income." Teleprompter has invested heavily in earth stations for satellite transmission and now has 80 of them; in January it bought half of Showtime, HBO's rival pay-cable service...
...programming companies, which put together shows to be seen on pay cable, are divided into two leading national firms, HBO and Showtime, and a bunch of smaller ones serving mostly local audiences. Among them: Prism, Hollywood Home Theater and Cinemerica...
...HBO, which was founded in 1972 and leaped audaciously aboard the satellite in 1975, more than doubled its business last year. Its programs now reach 2.4 million subscribers, vs. 1 million at the end of 1977. HBO's sports programming leans largely to documentaries of a sort; for example, an April baseball preview in which American League managers and players discussed the Yankees' chances of whining a fourth straight league pennant. HBO will also spend $13 million on original programming this year. Sample: National Lampoon Presents Disco Beaver from Outer Space, a satirical revue that was shown...
...HBO employees read original scripts for movies, with a view toward helping producers finance those that look good. The purpose is to assure a supply of movies for HBO customers. Results of the first few films that have been produced with HBO's help have been mixed: Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? was a moderate success; Magic and The Bell Jar were panned by many critics, including those writing for Tune Inc. magazines...