The addition of advertising to HBO Originals makes previously-elusive premium cable content available to marketers, even as as similar cable programmers, including Showtime and AMC, don’t yet offer advertising in their streaming channels. But with the advent of streaming ad tiers now spanning most premium platforms, including Netflix and Disney+, the addition may stand out less than it would have before the rise of the streaming wars.
“The audience is now so fragmented and easier to find in other streaming channels, like Netflix or HBO Max [Originals],” said one buyer. “It’s good to give us more supply, I just don’t think it’s as coveted as it probably was a few years ago when we were really trying to chase some of those audiences.”
A second buyer argued that the new inventory “matters in that you’ve got a show that has a lot of social currency—that still matters. [‘Succession’] is also a show that garners a lot of response, not just in audience size, but in the fact that they’re actually paying attention and looking forward to it.”
