Inspired by AT&T’s release of HBO Max “activations” and total HBO subscribers, here’s a timeline of HBO subscribers and HBO+Cinemax subscribers over time:
If you’d like to see that in table form, along with some financial numbers, here you go:
What about total subscribers? Again, we only have data from 2011-2017, but here you go:
Some quick points and explanations:
– This data was cobbled together from random leaks, Time-Warner’s annual reports and AT&T’s earnings reports. (Links here, here, or here for leaks and here for Statista.) If you know of any I missed, send them my way.
– There is a chance that the reason AT&T didn’t release 2018 numbers for HBO, in addition to the merger being ongoing is because their numbers during Game of Thrones season 8 last spring were higher than they are right now. We don’t know because of gaps in the data, but looking at 31.4 million HBO subs alone in 2015, then considering they had 5 million digital only subscribers in 2017, that could easily have been higher than the current 36 million.
– With only 3 million subscribers having “activated” HBO Max, that service has a lot of room to grow. I’d compare that to the early days of Amazon Prime Video; it too had a lot of time to convince people to try it out, but also the free cash flow to wait. Math and explanation of activations over at Variety.
– If you want more on the financials of HBO, and discussion of their subscriber counts over time, read my article at Decider and the Director’s Commentary.
– Comparing multiple subscriber counts with different definitions reminded me of this table I built for Netflix last fall. I’ll update it this fall with yet ANOTHER definition for Netflix.
