HBO's New Boss Calls Netflix the "Walmart" of Streaming

Shots were fired in the ongoing war between Netflix and HBO, with what could be considered an [...]

Shots were fired in the ongoing war between Netflix and HBO, with what could be considered an insulting comparison made by one executive.

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson was speaking at Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference when he called HBO "the Tiffany" to Netflix's "Walmart." This is just the latest development in the company's earnings, as the two continue to compete as the dominant forces in the streaming market.

After AT&T successfully acquired Time Warner earlier this year, executives decided to bolster HBO's output of original programming in order to compete with Netflix, which has made headway in quality shows that have earned accolades and critical buzz.

Stephenson reiterated that they are not going to spend as much as Netflix on HBO's boost of original content, and that the money would come from effective cost saving.

Netflix recently revealed a $12 billion dollar investment into its own original content, while Warner Media has not yet revealed a dollar amount for their own goals.

As of now, HBO is almost operating with a "business as usual" sense, though they are searching for new torchbearers with the coming end of Game of Thrones. Westworld is an ideal candidate, but with increasingly long production times between seasons, there should be more options.

HBO will begin production on the Game of Thrones spinoff series early next year as work is finalized on post-production of the flagship show's final season.

"Taking place thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones, the series chronicles the world's descent from the golden Age of Heroes into its darkest hour... And only one thing is for sure: from the horrifying secrets of Westeros' history to the true origin of the white walkers, the mysteries of the East to the Starks of legend... it's not the story we think we know," reads the show's synopsis.

The network will also be stepping into the superhero genre with their take on the seminal comic series Watchmen, being run by Damon Lindeloff. The series will not be an adaptation of the original story, but will instead examine how those events have affected the world and the people who live there.

And then there's the return of Deadwood, which is finally being revived as a movie.

"I can finally-finally confirm we are greenlit on Deadwood movie … it will shoot in October," said programming president Casey Bloys while speaking at the TCA's summer event.

HBO has a plan, and the higher ups aren't afraid to take a shot at Netflix in the process.

[h/t Deadline]

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