Ballers: HBO Exec Breaks Silence on Surprise Netflix Success

Warner Bros. Discovery sent shockwaves throughout the entertainment industry earlier this year, with confirmation that they would be sending several of their HBO shows to stream on Netflix. In the months that have followed, that experiment has proven to be a surprising success, with shows like the Dwayne Johnson-led Ballers and Issa Rae’s Insecure able to thrive on the new platform. Ballers, alone, was viewed for a total for 696 million minutes in its first week on Netflix. According to new comments from Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of HBO and Max Content, the deal with Netflix became beneficial for Max as well, leading to increased viewership numbers on their own platform.

“What’s been nice about it is, without doing a thing on Max, the viewership of or engagement of Ballers and Insecure really saw a spike when it was on Netflix,” Bloys explained at the recent Code conference. “You’re introducing it to more people, it’s marketing. This is something we used to do all the time and the initial experiment with a couple of titles we’ve seen have an immediate positive impact to Max. Remember everything we sell is co-exclusive, so it’s not like they come off, Max, and are only available elsewhere.”

Bloys did stress that this approach will not be given to every Max show, although they have “thought about” doing the same for previous seasons of True Detective, ahead of the fourth season’s premiere next year.

“I think what you have to balance is not putting too much out there so people think, oh, I’ll just wait until it comes here or here so I don’t really know the right answer. I don’t think anybody does,” he added.

What Is Ballers About?

In Ballers, the sun-soaked world of a group of past and present football players in and around Miami, FL is the setting for this half-hour HBO comedy series. Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson stars as a retired superstar who is trying to find a foothold as a financial manager to current players as they navigate life off the field.

The ensemble cast of Ballers also included Rob Corddry, John David Washington, Omar Miller, Donovan W. Carter, Troy Garity, London Brown, Jazmyn Simon, and Arielle Kebbel.

What HBO Shows Are On Netflix?

In addition to Insecure and Ballers, it has been reported that this approach will be taken to Band of Brothers and The Pacific, as well as Six Feet Under.

Over the years, HBO shows have managed to make their ways onto other platforms, with True Blood streaming on Hulu in a non-exclusive deal, and versions of Silicon Valley, True Blood, Sex and the City, The Sopranos, and Band of Brothers all edited down for cable.

What do you think of Casey Bloys’ new comments about HBO shows on Netflix? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!