HBO thrives while other television networks struggle

NEW YORK -- The slogan sounds elitist, even pompous: "It's not TV, it's HBO." But the pay cable service has backed up its boast.

"Sex and the City" won a recent Emmy and Golden Globe as television's best comedy series. "The Sopranos" swept the Emmys' lead-acting awards. "Six Feet Under," back this month for its second season, won the Golden Globe for best drama series.

Only a decade ago, HBO was barely in the business of making TV series. Now, its series are driving a surge in growth for the network, which added 1 million subscribers last year, to 26.1 million, says Larry Gerbrandt, chief content officer for cable analysts Kagan World Media.

One-fourth of American homes with television now get HBO.

That success is due to an economic model that frees HBO from broadcast network restraints, and to a willingness to offer creative freedom.

"Underneath it all, what I think our shows have in common, and what I think we tend to gravitate toward, are shows that have a strong point of view and cast some light on the complex nature of the human experience," said Chris Albrecht, HBO's head of programming.

A coming test

HBO's winning streak will be tested in the next few years as it prepares to increase its number of series by 50 percent.

It airs only seven scripted series now. ("Oz" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" also are critical favorites.)

HBO's first notable series success was "The Larry Sanders Show," which began in 1992.

When Jeff Bewkes took over as CEO in 1995, he sought to increase the number of series to insulate HBO against down years in the feature film business, which still provides the bulk of its programming.

Bewkes' mandate was simple, though subjective: An HBO series has to be something you wouldn't see on the broadcast networks.

The structure of HBO's business makes that essential, Bewkes said. While a network depends on selling commercials to make money, HBO must attract and keep paid subscribers. It doesn't sell ads.

Since HBO wants to be indispensible to subscribers, it can risk airing a good show that may alienate a portion of its audience. Broadcast networks, in general, try to smooth rough edges because they want to appeal to as many people as possible.

"That doesn't necessarily mean a show has to be good or seen as good," Bewkes said. "It means it has to be popular."

HBO has thus far avoided the broadcast network trap of imitating success, although it has spawned imitations. NBC premiered a series on Feb. 28, "Leap of Faith," that was a pale imitation of "Sex and the City" by one of its former writers. A handful of mob-show knockoffs appeared in the wake of "The Sopranos."

"A lot of the time at the network level you will go in and pitch an idea and they will be foaming at the mouth with enthusiasm," said Tom Fontana, creator of "Oz."

Feeling mighty good about himself and HBO after the Golden Globes, Albrecht remembers a friend walking up to him as he exited the auditorium. Congratulations, the friend said, you can't do any better than that.

Gee, Albrecht thought, suddenly depressed. Thanks.