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 Real Time with Bill Maher, the latest HBO entry from the caustic U.S. comic, is one of many shows that will be available in Canada. |
So HBO -- which in this case could stand for "Honourable But Overdue" -- finally is coming to Canadian television.
Kinda, sorta.
It was announced yesterday that starting on Oct. 30, something called HBO Canada will be available at no extra charge if you subscribe to The Movie Network package in Eastern Canada or Movie Central package in Western Canada. The new HBO Canada channel will replace the channel previously known as MMore.
But here are a couple of things to keep in mind:
1) This is not the direct HBO feed from the United States. The licence requirements of HBO Canada mean the channel must offer 25% Canadian content overall, and 30% in primetime. The balance will be HBO programming.
2) Most of the best stuff from HBO -- an acronym for Home Box Office -- already has been available to Canadian viewers on TMN and MC for years. This new arrangement, however, will allow for some previously blockaded gems to slip across the border, such as Real Time with Bill Maher.
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"I think it would be unfair to say this is just a reorganization (for TMN and MC)," said John Riley, the president of Astral Television Networks.
"Certainly we are pulling all those (HBO) elements together and putting them on one channel. And we're using the HBO brand as a bit of a beacon to draw everybody there. So reorganization? Yeah, sure, that's a component. But it's certainly not the only thing we're doing.
"In addition to the HBO product we already had, we are getting about 200 more hours in programming annually, and a healthy portion of that is additional new programming, such as Bill Maher's show, Def Comedy Jam, live events, boxing will return, and so on. The stuff they were doing that is first-run that we didn't have, now will be there. Plus we're going into their vault, too."
Overall, there's nothing bad about this for Canadian viewers, since MMore largely was a "repeat" channel anyway. But it certainly isn't the broadcasting bombshell it would have been 10 years ago.
It's true that the HBO brand can be used as a "beacon," as Riley said, but many Canadians probably think that all the quality cable programming from the U.S. is on HBO.
Dexter? Nope, that's Showtime. Californication? That's Showtime, too. TMN and MC already broadcast those programs through their arrangement with Showtime.
Mad Men, which just won the Emmy award for best drama? That's AMC. Breaking Bad? AMC, too. Damages? That's FX. In fact, since The Sopranos went off the air in June 2007, HBO has been desperate to find its next big hit as the other U.S. cable networks aggressively tread on what previously had been exclusive turf.
But as Riley pointed out, the existence of a Canadian channel dedicated to HBO programming will allow the combination of HBO Canada, TMN and MC to air more shows on the same date as when they debut in the U.S., which has become increasingly important in the Internet age.
"We have quite a breadth of programming, with HBO programming, Canadian programming, Showtime programming, so getting day-and-date was getting a little complicated," Riley said.
If HBO Canada flies, Riley said he would not be against doing the same thing with, say, Showtime programming at some point in the future.
"We certainly wouldn't foreclose that idea, but right now, I think the three letters HBO represent one of the most powerful and well-known TV brands," Riley said. "If it works well, of course, it might be a possibility in other regards. But certainly we're not looking at that at the moment. We're happy with what we're doing right here."
It sure took a while, but HBO finally is here. Kinda, sorta.
There's no down side. But it remains to be seen if Canadians will respond with increased subscription numbers, or if they even will notice the difference.