HBO stands for Home Box Office Inc and it is a US cable television company which advertises itself as the ‘home to the shows that everyone is talking about – from ground-breaking series, documentaries and sports to the biggest blockbuster movies available anywhere.

In fact, HBO reckon it will always be cooler than Netflix or Amazon and with smash hits under their belt like The Sopranos, The Wire and of course the undisputed king, queen, whatever of the North, South, East and West, Game of Thrones – it’s not really surprising that claim is made and that HBO is the undisputed home of many of TV’s most popular series.

But why is HBO so great? What sets it apart? And just how did it get such a great reputation?

Netflix was described by programming boss Casey Bloys as ‘in the volume business, whereas HBO was described as the curation business.’

In all business choice can be overwhelming at times, there are different models, different types – if you have ever looked for sites offering bingo games you can see just how many choices there are – even for an online game of bingo, one of the simplest and best loved classic games of chance, the choice can be immense.

Providing quality for consumers instead of quality lies at the very heart of what HBO offers – Netflix releases around 700+ original series and films (numbers for 2018) whereas HBO usually release around 15 new series, not only by choice but also because it does not have the massive budget Netflix enjoys.

But – focusing on a smaller number of shows does have great results, providing unique viewing experiences that keep audiences coming back – and this is why some of the world’s most creative storytellers have made HBO their home.

On HBO’s traditional Pay TV, the company operates seven 24-hour networks covering channels for the family, comedy channels and HBO Latino which shows movies, series and boxing in Spanish.

Pay TV subscribers are also able to enjoy over 150 hours of HBO’s programming anytime using HBO on Demand through their set-top boxes.

Some of the best offerings from HBO include: –

• Boardwalk Empire, created by Terence Winer and starring Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, Kelly Macdonald and Michael Shannon
• Oz created by Tom Fontana and starring Kirk Acevedo, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Ernie Hudson, Christopher Meloni, Tery Kinney.
• The Comeback created by Michael Patrick King and Lisa Kudrow and starring Lisa Kudrow, Lance Barber, Robert Michael Morris, Damián Young and Malin Akerman.
• The Leftovers created by Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta, starring Justin Theroux, Christopher Eccleston and Amy Brenneman.
• Sex and the City, created by Darren Star and starring Kim Cattrall, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon.