Wait, Does HBO Really Not Like Binge Watching?

We’d be really sad if the title of this post was indeed the case, given that our site is called HBO Binge and all.

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And yes, HBO CEO Richard Plepler really did take something of an anti-binge watching stance at a recent Washington Post event, explaining his reasoning by using examples like The Jinx as evidence that some shows were better enjoyed on a weekly basis, allowing time for discussion and speculation between each new installment.

What he actually meant, once he had a chance to elaborate, is that he didn’t think HBO would ever get into the habit of releasing all episodes of any of its series at once, a la Netflix. Here’s a quote he gave during the event:

"There’s something very powerful about having a conversation in the culture occurring for 10 weeks, 12 weeks, 13 weeks, about your programming. Occupying social media during that time, expanding the conversation about your brand for 12 weeks. You put on a show and binge it — that happens to be one way to watch it, but then it’s exhausted … I also think people enjoy the treat of waiting for the next episode."

The truth is, there’s no need for HBO Now to be the driver for HBO’s programming philosophy, even if it’s doing the great numbers it appears to be. The network needs to have programming for its cable channel as well as for streaming, a consideration that Netflix doesn’t have. Some of that programming, like Game of Thrones, brings in very big numbers for live viewing.

If viewers are too busy or simply can’t be bothered to make a show appointment viewing, they can still binge on HBO Now, they simply have to wait until the season is complete to do so. Or they can do a month’s worth after several episodes are aired, or what have you. The point is that Plepler is right in that HBO really has no incentive to drop 13 episodes at once, but he’s also kind of wrong to imply that discourages binge watching.

His company can have the best of both worlds here, and it looks well on its way to doing just that. Weekly viewers and bingers, can’t we all just get along?

(via Consumerist)

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