Is HBO That Different From Standard Cable?



Home Box Office, colloquially known as “HBO” was launched in 1972 and has been a subsidiary of Time Warner since 1990.  The network is primarily known for showing uncut movies without commercials, original uncensored shows, and boxing that would otherwise not be televised.  For these reasons HBO is paid cable that costs customers an extra $15-$20 per month.   Because of this the network is permitted to be more edgy and realistic with some of its programming, but that does not mean it chooses to do so with all of its shows.

  

There are three HBO programs that stand out in terms of their realism.  The first hour long series that ever ran on HBO starting in 1997 was Oz.  Oz depicts the brutal life in the fictional New York State maximum security Oswald State Correctional Facility.  It takes a harsh look at what life inside of prison is like, omitting nothing. The foulest language, graphic violence, frontal nudity, rape, cannibalism, execution, and basically anything you could not put on cable TV is included.  The realities of incarceration are displayed bluntly, and unfortunately many underprivileged youth in this country end up face to face with such realities.  Creator Tom Fontana said the idea for the show was spawned from his frustration with the networks.  When he attempted to sell a few very good, but grittier ideas to them he stated they all “spit in my face” (EW).  He also stated that he was terrified to return to censored cable television because he enjoyed the freedom in writing a show as real as Oz.

David Simon worked with Fontana on the show Homicide: Life on the Street.  Simon created both The Wire and Treme, the other two highly realistic programs on HBO.  While these shows are not quite as graphic or disturbing as Oz, they both show problems in America through struggles in their respective cities.  Via a sprawling murder and narcotics investigation, The Wire shows the struggles of urban youth, political corruption, and issues with the integrity of the media in the city of Baltimore.  Treme depicts the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and how much the disaster affected the city.

It is easy to notice that the content of these shows is nothing like that of the popular shows on standard cable TV.  Despite being universally critically acclaimed for their realism, these three shows do not even garner the highest ratings on HBO, let alone television in general.  In fact, of the 18 series HBO has aired in the past ten years The Wire ranks 14^th in ratings and Treme ranks dead last behind shows such as Entourage, Sex and the City, Game of Thrones, True Blood, and many more.

This begs a difficult question.  Is there really that big a difference between HBO and regular cable?  After all, Time Warner also owns all the Turner Broadcasting channels (CNN, TNT etc.), Warner Brothers, The CW, Cartoon Network, and numerous other holdings in the visual media.  Are Oz, The Wire, and Treme simply anomalies swimming in an ocean of premium cable programs that are all at their core just well-made network shows with more sex and foul language?  There is no absolute answer to this, but it is disappointing that HBO does not use the liberties it has to incorporate more realism into all of their programs.