This year’s slate suggests HBO still has enough cachet to attract top talent. With his promotion to programming president in 2016, Bloys assumed broader responsibilities.
“That increase has already happened,” says Bloys, a network veteran who shepherded such HBO comedies as Veep, Silicon Valley, Girls, Last Week Tonight With John Oliver and Insecure. HBO has already upped its hours of content to compete: 150 hours of scripted programming this year, 50% more than in 20. “Our advantage is the HBO brand and what that represents, how we treat talent, how we market a show.”īloys says HBO remains committed to preserving its identity as a haven for interesting, curated programming, in the face of fierce competition for top talent and projects-and pressure from WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey to increase the number of hours viewers spend watching its shows. “If you don’t do it, it could get made somewhere else,” said Bloys.
