Founded by Charles Dolan and based out of WarnerMedia’s former corporate headquarters at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in the West Side of Manhattan, its main properties include its namesake pay television network Home Box Office (HBO), sister service Cinemax, HBO Films, and the international HBO Go streaming service. It has also licensed or maintained ownership interests in international versions of HBO and Cinemax, most of which are managed by Home Box Office, Inc. through sister division Warner Bros. Discovery International.
The company’s milestones:
In 1972 – Home Box Office was founded by Time Inc. in 1972 to offer cable television service.
In March 1973 – HBO produced the first original pay-television special, the Pennsylvania Polka Festival, from the Allentown (Pennsylvania) Fair-grounds. HBO also became the first American network to deliver its programming by satellite and thus became the first national cable channel.
In 1976 – HBO quickly became one of the primary engines driving the growth of the cable industry.
In 1979 – Home Box Office’s first attempt at a secondary service was Take 2, a movie channel marketed at a family audience that launched in April 1979.
In August 1980 – The company launched Cinemax, an all-movie channel that would become the second most watched service after HBO. The company continued to diversify throughout the 1980s.
At the end of 1982 – HBO worked out a deal with Columbia Pictures and CBS to create Tri-Star Pictures, the first major new United States film studio in 40 years.
By 1983 – HBO was producing made-for-television movies and working on its own comedy programs, and had 13.4 million subscribers.
On February 21, 1984 – HBO launched its own home video unit, either as a subsidiary or joint venture, with options considering included either Vestron Video or Thorn EMI Video as its own joint venture prospects.
On April 1, 1986 – HBO commenced test-marketing of a new mini-pay service, Festival, to six American Television and Communications Corporation systems.
In 1989 – HBO continued to expand its offerings in 1989 by introducing the Comedy Channel.
In October 1990 – A secondary television production unit, HBO Independent Productions (HIP) was formed.
In 1993 – HBO purchased post-theatrical distribution rights for 48 films in development from upstart production company Savoy Pictures.
On March 1, 1994 – A partnership between Home Box Office, Inc. and Showtime Networks (parent of HBO rivals Showtime and The Movie Channel) implemented a cooperative content advisory system that was initially unveiled across HBO, Cinemax and the Showtime Networks properties that would provide specific content information for pay-cable subscribers to determine the suitability of a program for children.
In 2005 – HBO Films and New Line Cinema formed Picturehouse, a worldwide theatrical distribution company for high-quality independent films.
In 2010 – HBO released HBO Go, an Internet-streaming service on which subscribers could watch HBO programming.
On April 7, 2015 – HBO Now formally launched, initially retailing only to Apple TV and iOS devices under a three-month exclusivity agreement.
On July 9, 2019 – HBO Max was launched. It is an American subscription video on demand (SVOD) service.
According to en.wikipedia; www.zippia.com. Source of photo: internet
