HBO, HBO Max Experiences 13 Million Subscriber Boom Last Year In Wake Of Netflix's Struggles

RJ Pierce, Tech Times 21 April 2022, 10:04 pm

HBO had a record year last year in the wake of slowing growth for Netflix, even if it does still trail the media streaming giant.

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(Photo : Presley Ann/Getty Images for WarnerMedia)
BURBANK, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 29: Tony Goncalves, Chief Executive Officer of Otter Media, speaks onstage at HBO Max WarnerMedia Investor Day Presentation at Warner Bros. Studios on October 29, 2019 in Burbank, California.

Both basic HBO and HBO Max earned 13 million new subscribers in 2021 according to The Verge. This also includes a 3 million subscriber growth during the last quarter. The data was revealed in a recent earnings report posted by AT&T.

This growth comes after current world leader Netflix has reported that it is bleeding out subscribers - the first time it happened since 2011, according to Vox. While the platform still keeps its lead over everybody with around 222 million paying customers, this is still a clear indication that HBO and other competing services are starting to gain major ground.

According to the AT&T Q1 2022 report, last year's subscriber growth for HBO was driven by the "strength of the programming slate." They didn't explain what they mean by this, but this could be chalked up to numerous things as per an article by CNET. The platform's strengths lie in how new episodes and content drop every week, instead of being dropped all at once for users to binge.

Netflix has earned a reputation for doing just that within the last few years. A perfect example would be one of their biggest original series in recent times: "The Witcher." They dropped all eight episodes of the first season back in 2019 at once, which led to fans waiting two years for the second season - another all-in-one drop that necessitates another long wait.

(Photo : Screenshot from: The Witcher Twitter Page )
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Furthermore, HBO's catalog has gotten stronger as well. In their case, 2022 blockbuster "The Batman" coming to the platform mere weeks after its successful theatrical release is definitely working wonders for them. This isn't even mentioning the likes of "Justice League: The Snyder Cut," as well as familiar shows including "South Park," "Dr. Who," and even "Friends."

All in all, HBO and HBO Max now has a combined 77 million new subscribers worldwide as a result of Netflix tanking. And it might just be the start of something good for the platform moving forward.

HBO's Major Changes And Upgrades

HBO is not taking over Netflix's crown soon. But in recent times, the platform has been steadily reinventing what it offers behind the scenes, and it's paying dividends.

One of these reinventions is the introduction of a new shuffle button to specific series on HBO Max. Many people may think that this is the same to Netflix's "Play Something" feature, and they'd be right in certain aspects. However, it still works differently because instead of playing content based on users' watch histories, the platform will play something on random.

(Photo : Presley Ann/Getty Images for WarnerMedia)
BURBANK, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 29: Kevin Reilly, Content Officer of HBO Max and President of TNT, TBS, & TruTV, speaks onstage at HBO Max WarnerMedia Investor Day Presentation at Warner Bros. Studios on October 29, 2019 in Burbank, California.

This could be doing great things for HBO Max subscribers who might be looking for something new, but find it difficult to decide which one to watch.

Another thing is the company's $200 million deal with the US Soccer Federation to stream live soccer games in the United States. The deal will now let users watch these games starting next year, and for the next seven years after that.

With these things, it's not impossible to think how HBO is steadily gaining subscribers, considering that Netflix's recent controversies involving price hikes are making people look for something new.

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Written by RJ Pierce