WarnerMedia’s decision to put their 2021 line-up on HBO Max as well as in theaters has garnered up some controversy. Regardless, AT&T CEO John Stankey believed it was a good idea. That it was:
“Using the unfortunate set of circumstances around the pandemic for an opportunity to make lemonade out of lemons.”
Stankey added:
“We stepped back and thought of the theatrical business. No one went to theaters in 2020. It was a pandemic. Just like nobody got on an airplane, nobody went to hotels, nobody went to restaurants. All those businesses had a bit of dislocation because of that and the theatrical business had a bit of dislocation. You’ve seen other studios have continued to snowplow releases in the second half of the year, which cements our view. We’ll see a crowded theatrical field in late 2021 and early 2022,” said Stankey, “We don’t believe that magically just because there’s more content showing up in theaters all at the same, that’s going to dramatically increase the moviegoing population at that time.”
Stankey went on to explain:
“In some cases, maybe the dynamic of the media and the press was a little oversold or intense on both ends of the spectrum in my point of view. We told you, when the team decided to make this move it was appropriate for this moment in time. The team made the call. It was a bold and aggressive swing, it was done with a lot of thought as to what needed to occur with the subscriber base.”
What do you think about Warner Bros. decision to put all of their 2021 films onto HBO Max?
Source: Deadline
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