Institution: Home Box Office (HBO)

A) Ownership

One type of media ownership is Conglomerate - It is the main enterprise that own a connection of different companies. Walt Disney is an example of this because they own ESPN, ABC, Lucasfilm Ltd and Marvel Entertainment. Subsidiary is another example of media ownership. A subsidiary is a side company that is owned by a bigger media institution. The last media ownership type is Independent is when the company operates by themselves and is free from control. Film4 is an independent company that makes films for the UK. HBO is an example of a subsidiary because they are owned by Time Warners along with Warner Bros. Game Of Thrones is created by HBO which is a subsidiary because they are owned by the bigger institution, Time Warner. Time Warner is the conglomerate because they own many different companies. HBO was founded by Time Inc. in 1972 to offer cable television service. It grew slowly in the first few years. In 1975, it became the first American network to deliver programming via satellite. In the 1990s, it became more involved with making its own programs and airing special events such as boxing matches and music concerts.

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B) Operating Model

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Horizontel integration is when an organisation develops by buying competitors in the same part of the market. An example would be a music publisher buys smaller music publishers. Another interpretation of this is when two firms in the same industry, working at the same time, come together and work together. This can be one firm taking over another or from merging together. Vertical integration is when the production company owns production, distribution and exhibition of the film/TV by the same company meaning they earn all profit, therefore HBO is a vertical integration. 

 

C) Products

HBO programming creates sports events, comedy offerings, Hollywood films and self-produced films. Boxing is a type of sports that HBO stream for viewers. HBO has made a range of series, the most well known being series such as Game Of Thrones, Ballers, Sex And The City and Little Britain USA. HBO have produced many films that are popular internationally such as Bad Boys II, Avatar, Alien and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Their films and TV series attract a range of audiences because they include a diversity of genres and this is important because they expand their audiences therefore, expand their ways of earning money and popularity. 

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D) Market Position 

I think HBO is a market leader because they release and make some of the most popular films and TV shows internationally such as Game Of Thrones which has had an increase in viewers since 2011. With the release of HBO Go and HBO Now, which allows subscibers to view shows with more flexibility, more people have decided to subscribe to HBO, increasing their market value in recent years.  HBO are also an older company and the key to their success is reaching to new audiences by making programmes that are diverse. A niche market is a specialised market for as particular service or product. HBO could also specialise to a niche market because they air different events such as boxing which is a particular service for audiences. HBO have had 12 Golden Globe nominations, receiving more than any other TV network which is why I think they may be a market leader.  

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E) Competitors

One of HBO’s biggest direct competitors would be Netflix because it is a no cable channel with its own series and films that are all meant for different audiences. Furthermore, Netflix and HBO are easy to access on updated TVs, Computers and Apple Products which most people own in their homes. This is what makes them very competitive because the way they are accessed online is very similar. One advantage that Netflix has is that they have a much higher quantity of original series but, HBO’s series are better quality. Even though HBO have a fewer amount of series than Netflix, they reach out to a wider range of audiences whereas most Netflix series are reaching out to teenagers. Overall, they both have advantages over each other but also have disadvantages which even out the popularity. This represents they're both some of the largest online streaming services which is why i think they are very competitive. Netflix had $11.7B revenue in 2017 and HBO had $7B less but HBO is the leader among premium networks such as Showtime and Starz.