The Times - UK (2022-02-21)

the times | Monday February 21 2022 43

Business

A new stage in the streaming wars is
upon us. Netflix, the industry’s domi-
nant pioneer, is teetering while rivals
dig in. Disney is vying to maintain
momentum and Amazon is spending
$8.45 billion on MGM, the Hollywood
studio behind James Bond, as the
market grows ever more crowded.
Having set up shop at home, Amer-
ica’s newest platforms are turning to the
rest of the world. Peacock, owned by
Comcast, arrived in the UK last autumn
via Sky. Paramount+, a venture from
the Channel 5 owner Paramount
Global, will follow this summer.
HBO Max is the newest member of
streaming’s top tier, having amassed
74 million subscribers since its launch
in 2020. It is now rapidly expanding
across much of Europe, where it will
land in 15 countries next month. In
Britain, though, there’s a twist.
WarnerMedia, its owner, is keen to
bring HBO Max to the UK, according
to Jason Kilar, the entertainment
group’s chief executive. “Every indica-
tion is that consumers would love to
have it and we would love to bring it to
them.”
Alas, under a longstanding deal,
HBO serves up its vast slate of shows,
from Game of Thrones and Succession to
Curb Your Enthusiasm, exclusively to
Sky in exchange for hundreds of mil-
lions of pounds.
“That’s the current relationship,”
Kilar said, “but it’s a relationship that
has a duration and a term.”
While he acknowledged that the
future is “always unknown,” it is per-
haps the strongest signal yet that Sky’s
15-year partnership with HBO is set to
end once their latest lucrative agree-
ment expires in 2025. Sky, owned by
Comcast, declined to comment.
“We are very interested and excited
about bringing HBO Max to the UK,
when appropriate,” Kilar, 50, said in an
interview last week. The platform has
not yet reached these shores but its
shows are already making waves: last
year it reunited the cast of Friends
and revived Sex and the City.
Kilar, a self-declared “Potter-
head,” particularly enjoyed
Return To Hogwarts, an anni-
versary special released last
month. He declined to comment
on the absence of JK Rowling,
the Harry Potter author, amid
speculation that she had
been left out due to her
views on transgender
issues. “That’s obvi-
ously a decision [for]
the creator of that
retrospective,” Ki-
lar said. Repre-
sentatives of Cas-
ey Patterson, the
executive produc-
er, insisted her
company had a
“wonderful relation-
ship” with Rowling’s
team.
The writer’s team said
she was invited to partici-
pate in the documentary,
but that they decided us-

ing archive material was the

“most appropriate” option.

It is one of the many contro-

versies that crop up across a

sprawling film and television

empire. Warner-

Media spans the

Warner Bros film

studios, CNN

news network

and DC Comics

universe.

The company,

like other global

producers taking

content direct to

viewers via new

streaming ser-

vices, has faced

something of a

backlash. Re-

leasing block-

busters on

HBO Max in

the US on the very day they ar-

rive in multiplexes has angered

some operators and creators.

Earlier this month Village

Roadshow, co-producer of the

latest Matrix film, sued Warner-

Media for taking it to cinemas

and sofas simultaneously, a move it

claimed was designed to “prop up”

HBO Max. Warner Bros expressed

confidence that the dispute would be

resolved in its favour.

Kilar declined to comment on the

specific dispute, but made the case for

the fundamental changes reverberat-

ing through the entertainment indus-

try. “Audiences are the ones that get to

make these decisions,” he said. If they

want to head to a multiplex, great. If

not, they can watch at home.

“I think what we’re seeing right now

— through Covid, but also before — is

theatrically you’re certainly seeing a

move towards the spectacle.”

While Batman and Albus Dumble-

dore are expected to draw crowds to the

silver screen, Kilar reckons that other

dramas and romantic comedies are

most likely to find an audience at home.

When Harry Met Sally, the 1989 cinema

hit, “probably would be challenged” if

only run in cinemas today, Kilar

suggested. Amid intense demand for

content, however, he believes more big

budget films will be

created in the next decade than have

“ever been created in the history of

Hollywood”.

He was less forthcoming on the

subject of his own future. Kilar, who

became chief executive of Warner-

Media in May 2020, is widely expected

to depart in the coming months.

AT&T, its owner, announced last

year that the business would be merged

with Discovery, the media conglomer-

ate. Kilar was reportedly unaware of

the deal before it was signed off. He

promised to give an update on his plans

“when there is clarity”.

Should these be his final months in

post, Kilar is not sailing quietly into the

sunset. A storm broke recently when

Jeff Zucker, one of the most powerful

figures in the US media, abruptly

resigned as boss of CNN after failing to

disclose a romantic relationship with a

colleague.

Kilar had made clear that Zucker

needed to leave, according to reports,

angering some staff at CNN. Asked for

comment on claims that Zucker, 56, had

been treated unfairly, Kilar

said: “Your question is a bit of

a leading question, in that it

obviously stated things as

fact... I’ve been very and

purposefully quite limited in

my commentary on the sit-

uation. The only thing I’ve

said is that I accepted Jeff’s

resignation.”

It comes at a critical time

for the news outlet, which is

gearing up to introduce its

own streaming platform

this spring. The launch of

CNN+ “absolutely has not

been” disrupted by the exit

of CNN’s top executive,

Kilar claimed, touting the

“quality” of its team. “It’s

certainly bigger than any

one individual.”

The service WarnerMedia already

has up and running, HBO Max, will

soon be available in 61 markets.

“A lot has been written about certain

players seeing a slowdown and we just

don’t see it,” Kilar said. HBO Max is

growing faster overseas than it is in the

US, he added.

Kilar, who is not prepared to talk

about what comes next, was, however,

willing to reflect. The past 22 months

have “absolutely been the most fulfill-

ing stage of my career thus far,” he said.

“It is the most fulfilling professional

endeavour that I think — I know — I’ve

ever been associated with. And I never

take it for granted.”

So many channels to watch

It used to be so simple

before 1982: two

mainstream channels

plus BBC2.

Now there are so

many streaming

services people pay to

watch that you wonder

whether anyone still

watching Channel 5 is

doing so by mistake.

The streaming

services come in many

shapes and sizes.

Prime Video comes

as a package, and one

that is delivered by

Amazon.

Disney+ is the

new monster on

the block and if you

want to get your Star

Wars fix, that is where

you must head.

NowTV is the pick-

and-mix service for

people who have

commitment phobia to

other streaming

services.

Apple TV is one of the

newcomers, which has

been criticised by some

for not having much

worth watching but

which you know will get

its act together.

Netflix is the first

mover, the global leader

and undisputed

reigning champion,

whose status is such

that it can be used as a

verb for a night-in of

binge-watching with

your home-delivery

takeaway.

Britbox is the BBC,

ITV and Channel

4 venture whose

output is just

beginning to

annoy television

licence-payers

who wish they

would put the

best programmes

on their

mainstream

channels.

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Warner chief looks to magic up big

hits for his streaming service in UK

HBO Max is rapidly

expanding across the

Continent but with

Britain there’s a twist,

Callum Jones reports

The Matrix Resurrections, with Keanu Reeves, above. HBO’s hit Succession, below, is shown on Sky; its Harry Potter reunion was overshadowed by an absent JK Rowling

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