channel . for hbo in other countries see hbo international . for other uses see hbo disambiguation . home box office launched november 8 1972 ; 43 years ago 1972 11 08 owned by time warner through home box office inc. picture format 1080i hdtv 1 downgraded to letterboxed 480i for sdtv feed slogan it s not tv . it s hbo . country united states language english spanish hbo latino only and via sap audio track on primary hbo channel and all other multiplex channels ; some films may be distributed in their native language and subtitled into english broadcast area nationwide headquarters new york city new york u.s. formerly called the green channel proposed name sister channel s cinemax timeshift service hbo east hbo west hbo2 east hbo2 west hbo comedy east hbo comedy west hbo family east hbo family west hbo latino east hbo latino west hbo signature east hbo signature west hbo zone east hbo zone west website hbo.com availability satellite directv hbo east 501 hd sd west 504 hd sd hbo2 east 502 hd sd west 505 hd sd hbo signature 503 hd sd hbo comedy 506 hd hbo family east 507 hd sd west 508 sd hbo zone 509 hd hbo latino 511 hd hbo on demand 1501 dish network hbo east 300 hd sd west 303 hd sd hbo2 east 301 hd sd west 304 sd hbo signature 302 hd sd hbo family 305 hd sd hbo comedy 307 hd sd hbo zone 308 hd only hbo latino 309 hd sd cable available on all u.s. cable systems consult your local cable provider or program listings source for channel availability verizon fios 899 913 hd 400 413 sd iptv at & t u verse 1802 1815 hd 802 815 sd centurylink prism 1802 1815 hd 802 815 sd talktalk tv uk on demand buy & keep zazeen canada 172 173 hd sd streaming media hbo go play.hbogo.com u.s. cable internet subscribers only ; requires login from pay television provider to access content hbo now www.hbonow.com requires subscription through a participating retailer to access content playstation vue internet protocol television sling tv internet protocol television home box office inc. type division industry entertainment founded november 8 1972 1972 11 08 headquarters new york city united states area served worldwide key people richard plepler president ceo john k. billock president of hbo u.s. group sue naegle president of entertainment products pay television television production parent time warner divisions hbo cinemax red by hbo hbo latin america group subsidiaries hbo original productions hbo films website homeboxoffice.com home box office hbo is an american premium cable and satellite television network that is owned by time warner through its respective flagship company home box office inc. programming featured on the network consists primarily of theatrically released motion pictures and original television series along with made for cable movies and documentaries boxing matches and occasional stand up comedy and concert specials . hbo is the oldest and longest continuously operating pay television service basic or premium in the united states having been in operation since november 8 1972 . in 2014 hbo had an adjusted operating income of us 1.79 billion compared to the us 1.68 billion it accrued in 2013 . 2 contents 1 overview 2 history 2.1 development and launch 2.2 national expansion innovation and rise to prominence 1975 1993 2.3 rising prominence of original programming 1993 present 3 channels 3.1 background 3.2 list of channels 3.2.1 cinemax 3.3 other services 3.3.1 hbo hd 3.3.2 hbo on demand 3.3.3 hbo go 3.3.4 hbo now 4 programming 4.1 original programming 4.2 movie library 4.2.1 former first run contracts 4.3 sports programming 4.4 documentaries 5 other ventures 5.1 television channels 5.1.1 take 2 5.1.2 festival 5.1.3 the comedy channel comedy central 5.2 television and film production 5.3 home video 5.4 merchandising 6 branding 6.1 network slogans 7 criticism and controversies 8 international versions 9 see also 10 references 11 external links overview edit as of july 2015 hbo s programming is available to approximately 36 483 000 households with at least one television set 31.3 % of all cable satellite and telco customers in the united states 36 013 000 subscribers or 30.9 % of all households with pay television service receive at least hbo s primary channel 3 making it the second largest premium channel in the united states encore owned by starz inc. reaches 40.54 million pay television households as of july 2015 update 3 4 . in addition to its u.s. subscriber base hbo distributes content in at least 151 countries covering approximately 122 million subscribers worldwide . 5 hbo subscribers generally pay for an extra tier of service that includes other cable and satellite exclusive channels even before paying for the channel itself though hbo often prices all of its channels together in a single package . however a law imposed by the federal communications commission fcc requires that cable providers allow subscribers to get just limited basic cable a base programming tier that includes local and in some areas out of market broadcast stations and public educational and government access channels and premium services such as hbo without subscribing to expanded service comcast is the only major provider to have purposefully offered the network in such a manner utilizing this law as it offered a bundled cable internet package that included limited basic service and hbo from october 2013 to july 2014 or january of the latter year in some markets . 6 7 8 cable providers can require the use of a converter box usually digital in order to receive hbo . hbo also provides its content through digital media ; the channel maintains hbo go a video on demand streaming service available as a website and slate of mobile apps exclusively to existing subscribers of the linear channel suite and a separate but similar standalone service hbo now which launched in april 2015 as a subscription streaming platform that does not require a subscription to the hbo television service . 9 10 many hbo programs have been syndicated to other networks and broadcast television stations usually after some editing for running time and or content that indecency regulations enforced by jurisdictional telecommunications agencies or self imposed by network standards and practices departments may prohibit from airing on broadcast and cable networks and a number of hbo produced series and films have been released on dvd . since hbo s more successful series most notably shows such as sex and the city the sopranos the wire entourage six feet under boardwalk empire game of thrones and true blood air on over the air broadcasters in other countries such as in canada australia and much of europe including the united kingdom hbo s programming has the potential of being exposed to a higher percentage of the population of those countries compared to the united states . because of the cost of hbo which is the most expensive of the u.s. premium services costing a monthly fee as of 2015 update between 15 and 20 depending on the provider many americans only view hbo programs through dvds or in basic cable or broadcast syndication months or even years after these programs have first aired on the network and with editing for both content and to allow advertising although several series have filmed alternate clean scenes intended for syndication runs . 11 history edit development and launch edit in 1965 charles dolan who had already done pioneering work in the commercial use of cables and had developed teleguide a closed circuit tourist information television system distributed to hotels in the new york metropolitan area won a franchise to build a cable television system in the lower manhattan section of new york city . 12 the new system which dolan named sterling information services later to be known as sterling manhattan cable and eventually becoming the then time warner cable which merged into charter communications in 2016 became the first urban underground cable television system in the united states . rather than stringing cable on telephone poles or using microwave antennas to receive the signals sterling laid cable beneath the streets of manhattan because the tall buildings in the city blocked television signals and because the new york city council had required that all electrical and telecommunication wiring be laid underground to limit service disruptions during bad weather an ordinance that was passed after a blizzard in the early 20th century damaged telephone and telegraph lines in the area . 13 in that same year time life inc. purchased a 20 % stake in dolan s company . 14 15 sterling manhattan consistently lost money during its first six years of operation because of the expense of running cable underground and into buildings throughout manhattan as much as 300 000 per mile and a limited subscriber base 400 of them by 1971 . in the summer of 1971 while on a family vacation in france charles dolan began to think of ideas to make sterling manhattan profitable . he came up with the concept for a cable originated television service called the green channel . dolan later presented his idea to time life management ; though satellite distribution seemed only a distant possibility at the time he persuaded time life to back him on the project . 13 to gauge whether consumers would be interested in subscribing to a pay television service time life sent out a direct mail research brochure to residents in six u.s. cities . an overwhelming majority of those surveyed approximately 99 % opposed the idea ; 4 % of those polled in a second survey conducted by an independent consultant said they were almost certain to subscribe to such a service . time life later conducted a test in allentown pennsylvania in which salesmen presented the concept of a pay cable channel to residents by offering free service for the first month and a refundable installation fee ; half of residents surveyed in the test expressed interest in purchasing the conceptual service . 13 in a meeting of dolan and some time life executives who were working on the project various other names were discussed for the new service . they ultimately settled on calling it home box office although the name was originally intended as a working title in order to meet deadlines to publish research brochures for the new service with the belief that management would come up with a different name later . 13 original hbo logo used from 1972 to 1975 . originally home box office was to debut on a service electric cable television system in allentown ; in order to avoid blackouts for nba games that it was set to televise allentown was within the nba s designated blackout radius for the philadelphia 76ers market area under rules that the league had in effect at the time to protect ticket sales time life agreed to an offer by service electric president john walson to launch the channel on its system in wilkes barre outside of the 76ers dma in northeastern pennsylvania . 13 home box office launched on the evening of november 8 1972 . citation needed however hbo s launch came without fanfare in the press as it was not covered by any local or national media outlets . in addition the city manager of wilkes barre declined an offer to attend the launch ceremony while time inc. president and chief executive officer j. richard munro was unable to attend as he was stranded in traffic while trying to exit manhattan on the george washington bridge on his way to wilkes barre . 16 the first program and movie distributed on the channel the 1971 film sometimes a great notion starring paul newman and henry fonda was transmitted that evening to 325 service electric subscribers in wilkes barre a plaque commemorating this event is located at public square in downtown wilkes barre . home box