Wondering it's January fifth, two thousand and sixteen Look CEO Reed Hastings in its content, Sheep TED Sarantos race across the flat straight highway between Orange County, California and LAS Vegas in a rented suv rain lashes, the windshield a storm is: grounded all flights from John Wayne Airport in Orange County, so the Netflix team set to fly to Vegas that day, has to resort to something they've been doing in their business for a long time now they had to improvise they rent a car and drive fast to shave off as many crucial minutes as they can because what's waiting for them in Vegas is the in rehearsal for the most important announcement in Netflix's, history use. They painstakingly kept secret from the press for months.

Hastings and surround us, barely make it in time to the rehearsal and the next morning, Hastings Sting, It's on to a darkened stage of the consumer. Electronics show in LAS Vegas to cheers delivering the keynote address nerds, who were there for the displays of the latest electronic toys? Gah Excitedly to hear what he has to say, but with the rehearsal he stumbles out of the gate. He starts by rushing his speech. But he doesn't want to blow it. So he takes a moment to collect himself hebrew his right fist into his left hand and speaks in an awkward measured manner we can now put consumer across the world into the driver's seat when it comes to where and when you want to watch great stories at your fingertips. You just click and watch

simple but revolutionary, shipped from corporate to consumer control. The crowd is quietly rooting for him. Hastings begins to gather steam. He feels the kind of fire that must drive a preacher to deliver the hope of salvation. While you have been listening to me talk the Netflix service has gone, live in nearly every country in the world, but China where we hope to be Future excitement begins to pulse through the room behind him. Reading that map pops up on the screen showing that spreading world conquest today, right now, you are witnessing the birth of a global tv network and I do mean the birth

in a single moment. Netflix goes live in one hundred and thirty countries. From this moment, Netflix has become more a streaming company. It's leading a movement and consumers all over the world, decide what they watch and when and how they watch it. The future that Hastings in Mark Randolph in two decades earlier has arrived. The unfettered reign of cable television has end the war for streaming. Viewers will become richer. And more cut throat when you use uhm every day, is a little better zoom video communications with the web's best review.

Video conference service is used by millions to meet one on one or even hundreds at a time. Zoom, video conferencing, let you connect face to face with any across town or around the world with flawless video, clear, audio and instance, bring files, video anything and you can connect through any device to desktop laptop tablet, smartphone or conference room system. Zoom, video con printing zoom rooms, zoom video, webinars and zoom phone put state of the art tech right at your fingertips and let's you do business at the speed of zoo if you're not using zoom video communications. The only question I have is why not visit zoom online and set up a free account today and try the most affordable and most reliable video communications solution on the market and made happy with Zoom. From wondering I'm David Brown- and this is business wars-

maybe you are your parents remember those times in the 90s when you got that itch for a movie and hopped into your car, turned on the radio and headed out to blockbuster. You picked out your view. Hs or dvd and stood there in line trying to ignore all the popcorn and candy at every turn. If you were lucky, they act we had the movie you came for, but often you left with a second or third choice. And a lot of times the rental fees turned out to be just it down payment because all too often there were hefty late fees too Well, the way we watch has come a very long way on the final two episodes of our series on Netflix versus blockbuster revisited, we're looking at the.

Complicated, media landscape we live in today and where we might be headed. This is episode. Seven break the wheel. The Netflix founding myth seems that Reed Hastings first had the idea for his company when returned a vhs tape of the movie APOLLO. Thirteen to blockbuster and had to A forty dollars late fee tasting thought there had to be a better way for people to get movies that led him to start a dvd by mail service that year One thousand nine hundred and ninety seven, and about decade later Vientre streaming over the internet, well that story about APOLLO thirteen and late fees. It's just that the story Hasting this actually came up with it later is a good yarn to explain what he this co founder mark, Randolph we're trying to accomplish with Netflix but in the long run he was right. There

is a better way, and today twenty years later, you could say we are all living in Reed Hastings World Movie. Is in tv shows you love anytime many place, because Let's face it, what do you do on a Friday night these days? The video stores are pretty much all gone. That's for sure, and what do you watch think about? How do you watch it? here you might watch a movie on demand from your cable, tv or satellite box, or maybe you're, watching an original show produced by Netflix. What device it be an understatement say that the landscape is more complicated than it's ever been and a lot more competitive to. In our last episode, Netflix cracked open the premium content game with a one hundred million dollar gamble on how of cards winning accolades and Emmys, and that's just the start for them,

and while Netflix is moved on to HBO's turf, with high quality, Klay Acclaim Series time finds itself having to move into Netflix Netflix's territory streaming. It is March. Ninth, two thousand and fifteen thousand the people wait in a darkened San Francisco auditorium for the arrival of a tech, superstar Apple, CEO, TIM Cook, apple product, launch, events, bring surprises, yet at the same time are pretty predictable, But today has an unusual surprise for once, Cook will just be the opening act, someone else will be the headliner could casually strolls on stage in blue jeans and a sweater he smiles as waves of cheers and whistles wash over him. He paces loosely back and forth across the stage on a g

screen behind them blow the logos of dozens of media channels, including Disney ESPN, Showtime, AE and Fox. Now of all the great channels on apple tv There is one I'd like to talk to you about this morning and that is h b o the audience settles down. They are wrapped and impatient. We love HBO they've, really become part of our culture and it help shape our culture. Lush, publicity photos of the Sopranos sex in the city entourage deep in game of thrones, appear behind him. Today we got the CEO of HBO Richard Plepler. Here with some exciting news. Richard and cook ambles off the stage. The crowd strains forward in their seats a in a blue blazer. An open neck, dress, shirt walks purposeful

onto the stage. Unlike cook paste, the stage stands stiffly and speak formally. He does not seem to be in his element. We are, build to announce our standalone streaming service. Hbo Now- and we couldn't be prouder, though apple- is our exclusive partner at launch. The audience applauds wildly. They doubted this day would ever come now. They can cut their cable subscriptions and stream HBO, like they've, been asking to do for years. This is transformative moment for HBO and we are so excited. The His plepler is delivering good news. He looks and sounds uncomfortable, but does. Hbo now may already be too late to the streaming party to matter, and this might explain the awkward pairing today of plepler and Cook Butler, how

some of apple's cool factor will rub off on HBO and Millennials will return to the premium channel as Plepler Box off the stage. A weather for HBO's game of Thrones plays on the screen. The beautiful white hair rebel Princis names her rivals and declares how she will seize the throne of the seven kingdoms for herself. I'm not going to stop the wheel, I'm going to break the wheel. We now unnerves its allies in the cable tv industry, see there's a good reason why HBO is taken so long to offer a standalone service like this, like HBO now, and cable companies to carry h b, o subscribers to generate four billion dollars in subscription fees. Well, they hate. The idea of viewers could just get H b, o alone.

Tom Rutledge, the CEO of Charter communications, this to say about HBO. Anybody who sell their content over the top through streaming and also expects to exist inside a cable bundle. I think, is really deluding themselves. That's a call to arms from Rutledge see as a cable subscriber you don't get to pick and choose the channels you want. You pay for a package of hundreds of channels, even when there are only three or four. You really watch this what they call the cable bundle that costly bundle is what his kept the average cable bill in the triple digits for decades. If you start pulling out most popular channels and letting people pay for them. Ala Carte well the whole thing: unraveled hp, was the first major cable channel to both from the bundle. It's that's off. Alarm bells among the cable companies

millennials, another cord cutters- are jubilant over HBO. Now HBO Zone late night television host John Oliver, pretty much sums it up. I used be out now offers everything you love about HBO like sports and comedy specials, and full frontal nudity, Patrick Trifecta of HBO. It's a lot like HBO go except you don't have to rely on your parents password, so ha ha the plays along, remember, Jake, Caputo, he's the guy who launched take my money, HBO dot com HBO gamely did a promo for HBO now featuring in guy characters from the sopranos arrived to pay a little visit to computer. What is Jay could say, H, B, o take my money, yeah big balls on

what take it already, we had to take your money. Give me a wallet, there's not much in there which this, how much we got for the subway, I'm alone, eight Wiedemann I'll be seeing you After HBO, now, more and more networks follow their lead and unbundled themselves from cable services, ESPN plus CBS all access Showtime anywhere today, either and by the mall for a standalone subscription fee, and the HBO now has been a success for drawing new customers to HBO the companies. Few is about to take yet another turn. With stress and anxiety, you can feel exhausted during the day But then, when it's time to go to bed, if you just can't fall asleep, if worries is if, in your days and nights, it's probably also affect

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right now: business wars, listeners get twenty five percent off a calm premium, subscription at com, dot, com, slash, B, W, that's c, a l m dot com; Slash B, w get unlimited access to all of calms content. Today, at home, dot com, slash, when you're looking to fill a role at your business, getting those potential hires in front of you in person to see how they mesh with your team is really important, but first you need a great pool of candidates to pull from and you only have to go one place to find themziprecruiter dot com. Bw Ziprecruiter send your job to over one hundred of the web's leading job boards, but they don't stop there with their powerful matching technology. Zip recruiter, chance thousands of resumes to find people with the right experience and invites them to apply to your job as applications. Then Ziprecruiter analyzes, each one and spotlights the top candidates. So

you never miss a great match. Ziprecruiter is so effective that four out of five employers who post on Ziprecruiter, get a quality candidate through the site within the first day right now. Listeners, a business wars can try Ziprecruiter for free at this exclusive web. Address zip recruiter. Com, Slash Bw, that that's ziprecruiter dot com, Slash Bw, one more time: Ziprecruiter, DOT, com, Slash Bw, Ziprecruiter the smartest way to hire It's February. Twenty six, twenty nineteen, The telephone company Att is finally 1a bloodied. Politicized legal battle with the federal government to approve eighty one billion dollar acquisition of HBO's parent company time Warner

Department of Justice had sued to stop the merger on antitrust grounds, but after fifteen months a judge finally gives the merger the green light. The deal makes a TNT, the proud owner of all of Time Warner the Warner there's movie studio, its cluster of basic cable networks like TNT and TBS, and, of course, HBO wide considered the crown jewel of the Warner Media Empire a few months before the merger closed John Stankey had visited HBO's office is to talk with the employees in a tie town hall meeting he is an a TNT lie for an engineer, and he said take over the newly created Warner media he'll, be the new boss of the man. Who's run, HBO for the twenty seven years Richard Plepler Plepler had Dear HBO's. Reputation for making credible shows with top flight talent he's also spent lavishly. Some apple

loads of HBO shows, can cost as much as a single film and the network doesn't skimp on promotional costs, either on me or golden globes night HBO will backup awards, but also a huge tab for some of the fanciest after parties. In Hollywood. Their new owner Att is notorious for pinching pennies. What's going to happen, The town hall meeting takes place in HBO's theater in New York. Stanky who lives in Texas sits across from plepler plepler in all his employees. Listen eagerly is stay. He lays out his views on what makes HBO great and where things are headed. As I step back, you can think about what's unique about the Brandon, where it needs to go. There's Gonna, be a little more depth to it. There's got to be more frequent engagement, hp, those gotta be broad enough to make that happen. Basically, he

h B. Hbo needs to offer more. Basically, it needs to be or like Netflix plepler tries to pin down, John Stankey on whether Att will give them the money required to do that, but stanky doesn't want to commit to anything. Finally, Stanky relents I do believe there needs to be stepped up investment. Let's give and for that simple sentence that simple then it deserves a hand. Also, we've got to money at the end of the day right plepler gets defensive. We do that. Yes! Yes, you do! It's not enough Oh now now be careful, stanky the HBO folks that the transition is going to be difficult. My wife hates when I use this metaphor, but it's going to be a lot like childbirth you'll

look back on it and be very fondly of it, but it's not going to feel great while you're in the middle of it plepler if uncomfortably in his seat. What exactly does that mean? Then? Just two days after the mega merger closes in June, the oaks inside HBO get a what stanky was referring to Richard Plepler. There loss for twenty seven years is pushed out even. More questions swirl about what the cost conscious phone company plans to do with HBO an image all this uncertainty comes another blow for HBO the end of their hit game of thrones. On May 19th, two thousand and nineteen, the last episode of HBO's franchise airs the lords of Westeros per sheep. Are you sheep? No dragon be a track.

Game of thrones has been more than just a crossover hit. It's been a massive driver of subscriptions. It launched back in twenty eleven and was key to the early success of HBO. Now it's scored with just the right younger tech, savvy demographic who wanted to be able to watch a show on their laptops or smartphones. Now, John Snowden Ares in all of Westeros, is over an exam wondering is winter for HBO. In some ways this is nothing new for the company. Similar Conversations happened when the sopranos or sex in the city ended the company managed to convince subscribers to stick around then and eventually lure in new ones with shows like the wire true blood, big love, boardwalk Empire and yes, game of thrones. But the fact is HBO is entering a much different reality now, with a lot

more competition in HBO's arena and out of that new reality has to do with what Netflix has been doing. My daenerys crossing the narrow sea, with her army and dragons, to claim the iron throne has come to Hollywood and launched a full on content. A seat, Reed Hastings Vision of Netflix is a streaming service. With its own original programming began with house of cards. It is turned into a flood of Netflix originals, just scroll through net home screen and could be a raft of new Netflix originals everyday. Then uh, number of shows and movies on the Netflix service made by Netflix, now official out numbers that shows it licenses from other companies, though making them in all genres languages. You name it in twenty nineteen alone, the company is spending fifty teen billion dollars to make

all the shows taking on more and more debt to do so. The most recent Emmy awards Netflix even beat HBO for the most Emmy nominations of feet that seemed Impa. Sybil only a few years ago. It seems a place, gives creators freedom. The thing HBO has long been famous for When Jeff Daniels takes the stage to collect the supporting actor award for his work on the Netflix western Series godless. He acknowledges this. Thank you to a netflix for your support of artists, letting artists, b artist, and Reed Hastings and TED Sarantos, or not just take on the television business they've. Also ramped up a film production engine that rivals that of many Hollywood studios Roma, the Alfonso Cuaron one film that they made and released in two thousand and eighteen was nominated for ten oscars. There in this was some of the biggest directores in the film business. The Coen brothers

Scorsese Michael Bay, except there's, one big difference: the company's films, don't play for the typical ninety days in movie, theaters in major exhibitors, like AMC and Cinemark won't play them at all. Instead, their films, which your stars, like Will Smith, Adam Sandler and Amy Poehler Premier on Netflix, with only a token run in the theaters first line, is my name is Claude. So, just repeat after me, does your method? close you're, the cook plow. Maybe one of the best ways to understand the new landscape is through an old tv hit. Friends, friends, ran on NBC through the 90s and was produced by Warner brothers for years, it was licensed in lots of places, including netflix at all. Twenty years after it went off the air, it remains a huge hit. Netflix's produce lots of so unsuccessful shows at this point, but none with the popularity

friends. It's one of most watched shows on the platform so at end of twenty eighteen, one or media and Att faced a dilemma, The license deal with Netflix was about to expire. The company could either re up with Netflix for hundreds of millions of dollars or hold the show back from the company, they had become. It's number one competitor Warner media, has plans for its own streaming service, but it would be at least two more years before that became a reality. What to do forgo the money from Netflix or re, license it to Netflix. While Warner gets its streaming service in shape, it's a lot. Money to sacrifice just to keep a show like friends in mothballs? Ultimately, at decided to license the show to Netflix for one more year, but the deal would be non exclusive.

That means when Warner Media's new streaming service does finally get up and running they'll be able the air the sitcom to Wall Street scratched its head at the agreement in these new streaming. Wars of a love property, like friends, is just too precious to hand over to your competitor, even for a one million dollars in the next Final episode of business wars resume track. All of the new entries in the market, including the Walt Disney Company, thanks to acquisition of Hulu and most of 21st century fox, that mouse is roaring louder than ever. From wondering this business wars and we hope you enjoyed this episode. Please sub

Five on apple podcasts, Google, podcast, Spotify Stitcher, I heart radio, where ever you listen to podcasts you'll, find a link on the episode notes you can tap or swipe over the cover, art and you'll find some offers from our sponsors to we hope to support our show by supporting them. There's another way that you can support us and that's by giving us a five star rating and telling your friends how to subscribe or going over to one three dot com. Slash survey in answering a few questions for us. Don't forget to tell us what business war stories you'd like to hear quick note about the conversations you've been hearing. We can't know exactly what was said, but this dial is based on our best research. I'm your host did brown. This episode was written by Gina Keating author of the book Netflixed and Dade Hayes author of the upcoming book binge times

Karen Lowe is our senior producer and editor. Our editor and producer is Jenny, Lauer Beckman, sound design by Jeff Schmitt and Bay area. Sound our executive producer is Marshall Louis created by earn on Lopez for wondering. Quandary John Coastal Sharons mom called him with some bad news. She said I burnt. Yeah, I burned my hand and it's really bad. He was worried. It look like Cold skin to the skin got blisters to the skin, came off then John had an idea flu is mother to California and they went to a clinic where she got stem cells and just like that, her hands started to get better. It even cared her arthritis, so it was a life changing for me really like changing aside,

for John's mom. The treatment worked across the country in Texas Elaine Delete tried to help her mother with stem cells. Just like John had done my husband and I would do anything to help her, but she would not be so lucky emergency. What's going on, she had damn salesperson her back in next last Wednesday. She can't were you afraid that you were going to. I knew ask Anna Loser to patients. Mothers who place their hopes in the promise of a miracle cure, and these you are connected, but not in the way you might expect what you find out the truth of the whole story. I just really can't believe anybody anymore from wondering the network behind doctor death

and over my dead body comes a new story, bad batch about people who went searching for a miracle. I wouldn't it was just a matter of time before they were going to get caught. I knew they were. You know solid snake oil and found a nightmare I'm gonna say that wherever there opportunity there is greed and wherever there's money, there's greed. When greed gets involved. Bad things happen, I'm Laura Beal bad Batch premieres October 23rd on Apple. Podcasts or wherever your listing right now and I looked at him and said Are you sorry, John? Are you been sorry.