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HBO Should Look Forward to Childbirth

HBO is not looking forward to the childbirth jokes. John Stankey,CEO of Warner Media,said they’ll be working harder in the coming year.

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HBO Should Look Forward to Childbirth
Home Box Office is not looking forward to the childbirth jokes. John Stankey, CEO of Warner Media, spoke to 150 HBO employees at a company townhall event. The short version is Stankey said they’ll be working harder in the coming year. "You will work very hard, and this next year will — my wife hates it when I say this — feel like childbirth…You'll look back on it and be very fond of it, but it's not going to feel great while you're in the middle of it." Stankey, believing that HBO isn’t profitable enough, has hinted that they need to increase their content to compete with streaming giants Netflix and Amazon. HBO, considering itself a boutique network, is not creating enough content to match the number of hours watched on other streaming services. To compete with Netflix and Amazon, Stankey desires an increase of hours watched per day as opposed to hours per week. Stankey wasn’t talking about a real pregnancy and childbirth. He was really calling for HBO to produce more content that appeals to a broader audience.

Can Home Box Office Produce?

Many of the biggest TV shows have found their home on HBO. The Sopranos, for example. Known for its gritty style, graphic violence, and nudity, The Sopranos landed 118 wins and 301 nominations over its six seasons. The show was more than mob violence, but a poignant portrayal of personal growth in maddening circumstances. If The Sopranos had been Home Box Office’s only hit then the argument would be easy. HBO didn’t stop with The Sopranos, however. Game of Thrones, Tru Blood, Sex in the City, WestWorld the list goes of examples of HBO putting out programming that consistently draws in a dedicated viewership. For Stankey to call for an expansion of their content offers is a dicey move. HBO has long enjoyed its position of “premier content” provider. The network fought to that spot by offering bold and edgy programming that one would only see in movies. Instead, HBO brought onto the small screen, for a monthly fee, every night. When HBO became known for their content, they spawned a host of other networks offering similar programming. Of course, they also charged a premium for it. If a viewer didn’t like the content, they simply didn’t have to pay to watch it. Problem solved. This tactic has sustained HBO…so far.

Are Netflix and Amazon Producing Something Better?

At the 2017 Emmys HBO had 111 total nominations. Netflix and Amazon had 91 and 16, respectively. When the awards ceremony was over, HBO walked away with 29 wins. Netflix? Twenty wins. Amazon? Two. Crunching the numbers, that means HBO had a success rate of 26% to Netflix’s 22% and Amazon’s 13%. Based on these numbers alone, there’s little argument that HBO is doing well compared to Netflix and Amazon. It’s not the number of awards that executives like Stankey are looking at. According to a 2017 survey by Morgan Stanley, respondents were asked; “Which service provides the best original programming?” 33% of respondents answered- Netflix. Amazon doesn’t seem to be in the fight much. They may just be biding their time. If HBO and Netflix are busy slugging it out, then Amazon could sit back, relax, and wait to pick off the exhausted winner when the fight does finally end. For now, HBO needs to contend not just with Netflix, but what they stand for – streaming original content, and lots of it. Although not all shows Netflix and Amazon offer end up being winners, they seem to be playing a numbers game; the more shows produced should eventually lead to a big hit, like Stranger Things. If HBO tries to play the game Netflix is playing HBO would lose. What HBO should be focusing on, instead, is to find a way to build upon their brand.

How can HBO win?

The childbirth metaphor is fitting given the amount of work that HBO is likely to take on in the coming years. A better metaphor for “winning” would be “Can HBO capture more attention than Netflix and Amazon?” Making a breakout show and keeping viewers aren’t always the same thing. There have been great shows that were rated poorly by critics. There have been terrible shows that critics loved. There have been shows that had one good season and then they die off soon after like Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom. For HBO to live up to Stankey’s request of creating content for a broader audience, the network will have to find a way of connecting to a much more diverse audience. Not every show can have gratuitous violence and nudity. They’ll have to watch their language as well. A challenge for sure, but not impossible. HBO has already found success by tapping into books. Game of Thrones, Big Little Lies, and Sharper Objects were all based on best-selling books. This tactic has worked for them so far. After all, if people like reading a book, they’ll likely want to watch it as a show. By expanding on this logic, Home Box Office can go a few steps further by looking beyond their usual picks and try different genres. What about a limited series based on books like The Dresden Files, Soon I Will Be Invincible, and Scot Harvath? It may be as simple as visiting the local Barnes & Noble and going to a different section.

HBO is About to Get Bigger

To fill Stankey’s order, as well as compete with Netflix and Amazon, HBO will have to expand. How they expand is entirely up to them. HBO can be as creative in this endeavor as they are with their content. The road ahead is uncharted. HBO should view this as an open invitation to really push the envelope and not a decree to create babies. And if Home Box Office is good at one thing- it’s pushing the envelope.
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3 Reasons to Keep the Music Playing

Drake's Scorpion reached 130 million streams 130 million doesn't count how many times listeners repeated the album to keep the music playing.

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3 Reasons to Keep the Music Playing
Silence is golden…good music is platinum. This point was proven by Drake’s newest album Scorpion, which went out and racked up 130 million global streams in its first twenty-four hours. While that number—130,000,000— counts streams, it doesn’t count how many times the music was on repeat. Repeating the album keeps the music playing. This speaks to the force of Drake’s beats, lyrics, and style. There are those inexplicable times when a song just speaks to you and you have to hit the repeat button. Maybe it’s the lyrics, maybe it’s the beat, maybe it’s the situation you find yourself in. No matter the reason, we’ve all experienced a time filled with a single song or album that defines an emotion. These unique times, when you keep the music playing, are doing more for you than you may realize.

Soothing Notes

Happy or sad, angry or joyful, there’s music that comes to mind to help us express these feelings. And it may not be solely music that we turn to when we’ve experienced a great loss or a profound victory. These moments, nonetheless, wouldn’t be as impactful if they did not have music. When we recognize the benefits of music, we can begin to strategically incorporate it into our daily lives. As opposed to listening to music to deal with negative emotions, we can instead play a song in anticipation of those situations we know to cause us stress. Jenny Hole, Martin Hirsch, Dr. Elizabeth Ball, and Dr. Catherine Meads conducted a review in 2015 on this very idea. They checked medical records of patients who’d undergone surgery. There were those who’d listened to music before, during, and after their surgery and reported feeling less stress in anticipation of the surgery, coupled with a speedier recovery time afterward. Patients who didn’t listen to music at all found their stress levels higher and their recovery time to be longer. More interesting than that; listening to music while under anesthesia was shown to have a positive effect on recovery time. The study was inconclusive as to whether these patients were listening to Drake or one of his haters.

Coming Up with New Ideas

Scorpion consisted of 25 tracks! For Drake to produce that much music, he did more than mine his own experiences for material, he collaborated with a host of artists, both new and old, to create new music to fill out Scorpion. Music was part of the process of creating new music. Beyond creating tracks for albums, you can use music to boost your own creativity. It’s been shown that listening to happy music does, in fact, boost divergent thinking—also known as being creative. Don’t limit yourself to just Drake, however, as instrumental music does a better job of accessing the right side of the brain. The right side is where images are stored. By listening to music without words, we put the focus on the right side of the brain. The left side is where words are stored, the logical side. When we listen to music with words, we’re pulling from both sides of the brain. This doesn’t take away our creativity, our brain’s focus is simply split between the two sides. If Drake gets your creativity going, then keep listening to Drake. If you want to branch out into the more instrumental side of the music spectrum, there’s classical music. For those who wouldn’t go near classical music, don’t worry, there’s Epic Music. Epic music is the stuff you hear on trailers for movies and games. Believe it or not, there are bands out there that create such music. Just check out Two Steps From Hell, Heavy Melody, Colossal Trailer Music, Phantom Power, Brian Delgado, and much more!

Enhance Experiences

The greatest movies have spawned some of the greatest music ever. Thanks to composers like John Williams, Hans Zimmer, and Alan Silvestri, there are those tunes we hear and automatically think of Superman, Batman, The Avengers, Jurassic Park, Star Wars, and many more movies. While these movies tell a story, it’s the music that hints when we need to feel excitement, fear, betrayal, anger, happiness, and ultimately, success. Take the music away from these movies and the experience would feel significantly less. Just try it and you’ll see.

Keep the Music Playing

While silence is golden, admit it, having music playing does give even the most mundane events a bit of a boost. To ensure your experiences are never without a soundtrack, download a music streaming app today. There are plenty available; Apple Music, Prime Music, YouTube Music, Pandora, Slacker Radio, Spotify, and Tidal… to name a few. Of course, which is better is an ongoing debate... which I'll levae up to you. If Scorpion has taught us anything about music is that it is not a one-time thing. Good songs, artists, and genres do so much more than just fill the void. When we keep the music playing, we reduce stress, push our creative boundaries, and enhance experiences.
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4 Ways to Keep Rising Prices from Burning Up Your Wallet

Since a few streaming services have decided to raise their rates, this also creates optimal fire conditions in your wallet.

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4 Ways to Keep Rising Prices from Burning Up Your Wallet
With summer in full swing, temperatures rise. It’s not uncommon to see forest fires in more rural parts of the country. As the heat and the dry winds cause perfect conditions for fires to start. Since a few streaming services have decided to raise their rates, this also creates optimal fire conditions in your wallet.

Temperature Rising

Within the last week Playstation VUE, DirecTV have announced a price increase of at least $5 to their streaming services. It doesn’t help that Sling TV, YouTube TV, and Netflix have also announced price hikes in the last six months.

It’s not all bad

Despite no clear explanation for the price increase, Playstation VUE and DirecTV are still going to deliver the same great shows and live TV they always have…just at a little bit more of a price tag. These streaming services provide cable channels without the actual cables, which is a definite plus for some people. For example, FIFA’s World Cup is garnering lots of attention, even though it's already half-over. Since it’s being held in Russia, which is on the other side of the globe, being able to stream games live is a necessity. Come August we’ll see this happen again when the NFL kicks into high gear with their 2018-2019 season.

Fire Risk

With so many streaming options available, there’s a significant portion of the population with more than one streaming membership. Now, what may be just a $5 increase for one streaming service, is becoming a $10, $15 increase per month. Some people are faced with the choice of deciding whether that price tag is worth premium access, even if it is for the World Cup and the NFL.

Rising Prices

Prices go up, that’s one thing we can all rely on with certainty. Therefore, there are those who will simply pay the increase and find ways to cut costs somewhere else in their budgets. Then there will be those who decide it’s not worth the extra five, ten, fifteen dollars a month to have multiple streaming services. Yet, the decision will be difficult as to which streaming service to cut and why. Take heart, as there are other options.

Reduce Your Internet Bill

To keep your streaming services, you can find ways to reduce your internet bill, thus absorbing the cost of the price increase that way. Before you dial the customer service line, realize that this isn’t a life and death negotiation. It’s just business. The customer service rep on the other end of the line won’t take it personally that you’re trying to reduce your bill. They will still get paid at the end of the day. Come into it as though you’re simply talking dollars and sense. Knowing this you can confidently dial the customer service line for your ISP. Start by giving them your cancellation date. This lets them know you’re serious. Once you have their attention, request a lower rate, possibly the introductory rate. If they can’t give you the introductory rate, don’t settle for “the next best thing.” Set a price and stick to it. If they won’t play ball with you, then hang up. It’s as simple as that. If they still want your business, then you’ll be getting a call back from a retention specialist. It’s this person’s job to keep you as a customer for the company. When they’re calling you, you’re the one calling the shots. From there you can set the tone of the conversation and demand a lower rate. If they’re still not going to budge on their price, let them know you’ve already set your cancellation date. If the retention specialist is wise, this person will at least entertain the idea of a lower rate. When this happens, you can even offer to buy the modem and router your ISP provided to bargain for a lower price. This way you’re no longer paying the monthly rental fee!

Skimpy Bundles

If negotiation isn’t your thing, then you can cancel your streaming services and go with a Skimpy Bundle. The trade-off with a skimpy bundle service is a sacrifice of access to unlimited content in exchange for a select number of channels for a cheaper price. You’ll still get a good picture and ad-free content but on a smaller scale.

AT&Ts Watch TV

AT&T’s cheapest live TV streaming service, Watch TV comes in at $15 a month. With this, you can stream 31 channels to your smartphone, tablet, or set-top box, but only one at a time.

Philo

Backed by cable TV content providers, Philo offers a base package of 37 channels that includes a lot of the big-name channels. You can also stream on multiple devices at the same time. There are other packages that offer more channels, but of course, they’ll cost more. The base package only costs $16 a month. Unfortunately, there are no sports channels offered.

Fubo TV

Fubo TV does have a nice introductory package of 70+ channels that includes a healthy sampling of sports channels! After a seven-day free trial, your first month will be $19.99. The drawback is after that first month, the price goes up to the normal amount of $44.99. This would be a great way to enjoy your sports for a short time then cancel once the season ends.

Extinguish the Fire

With these suggestions in mind, you don’t have to let the streaming services dictate how much you’ll be paying. There are ways around the higher prices. All it takes is a little research, a little time, and you’ll find the right viewing options for you at the right price. This will keep the money in your wallet from burning up this summer!
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6 Steps to Finding the Best Deals on Amazon Prime Day

Forget Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Amazon Prime Day is a day full of deep discounts and awesome deals! Maximize your shopping experience.

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6 Steps to Finding the Best Deals on Amazon Prime Day
The day after Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday, is the biggest shopping day in the United States. In 2017, a recorded 97,632,000 million people entered a retail store to make a purchase and the sales figures for that day, both in retail and online sales, were in the billions. More impressive than that, the numbers for Black Friday 2017 were dwarfed by the sales figures of the following Monday, Cyber Monday. And a good chunk of those sales were on Amazon. And why shouldn’t they? They’re the largest online retailer and it was the holiday season. Amazon, however, has decided to take this a step further- they’ve created their own holiday, in their own image. Amazon Prime Day. Now in its fourth year, Amazon Prime Day will fall on Monday, July 16th.

What is Amazon Prime Day?

Despite being called a “day” Amazon Prime Day will last for 36 hours, starting at noon on July 16th, and ending at midnight on July 17th, Eastern Standard Time. This day will be full of special discounts, deals, and lightning deals…open only to Amazon Prime Members. This includes ALL Amazon Prime Members. It matters not if you live outside the United States and could care less about Black Friday, if you’re an Amazon Prime Member, you’re already in! The first step, then, to getting in on all these good deals, is to become an Amazon Prime Member.

Step 1- Become a Prime Member

Amazon Prime Members enjoy perks like free same-day delivery and two-day shipping, unlimited music streaming, photo storage, and reading, as well as Prime Video, Amazon’s streaming content service. The standard option is Prime Monthly, coming in at $12.99, charged monthly, and you can cancel at any time! There is also an annual option of $119 paid once for the entire year. And for those who just want to enjoy the shows and movies, there’s a Prime Video option for only $8.99. Any of these options will allow you to participate in Amazon Prime Day. Keep in mind, however, that the Prime Video option will not have the two-day shipping and same-day delivery. If you’re not wanting to pay even that much, and just want in on the great deals, then sign up for a 30-day free trial. Even with this trial offer, you can still get in on all the great Amazon Prime Day Deals!

Step 2- Download the Amazon App

If you haven’t already, download the Amazon App. With this app, you can preview deals in the week leading up to Amazon Prime Day.

Step 3- Set up Notifications

With your Amazon App downloaded, you can set up notifications for when a product is on sale. There are also third-party services that will let you create a tracking list and stay on top of pricing changes.

Step 4- Store Your Favorites in Your Shopping Cart

The Amazon shopping cart is for more than just checking out. There’s no time limit to how long you can leave a product sitting in there. This is especially handy if you want to hold onto that special item until Amazon Prime Day. When July 16th arrives, you can open your app, check your cart, and Amazon will adjust the price to the current sale price.

Step 5- Don’t Be Afraid to Look Outside Amazon

While Amazon is having its moment on July 16th and 17th, it might not hurt to take a look at other online retailers. For instance; Amazon’s competitors, like Walmart, Target, and Best Buy may not be sitting by quietly while Amazon is throwing a huge sale with deep discounts and deals. So take a look at their online shopping options. They may even have sales going on in stores to combat Amazon. Who knows, you just might find a better deal!

 Step 6- Seize the Day

Not to be left out in the cold, websites like IGN, The Verge, Tech Crunch and others will also be running updates on Amazon Prime Day sales. Check with your favorite to see if they’ve got the scoop on a specific deal coming up. If there is something you just can’t live without, stick it in your cart and wait for Prime Day to start. But even then, don’t buy it yet. Wait patiently as there are likely to be lightning deals. These deals happen at a specific time and last for a short time. Make sure to check in throughout the day so you don’t miss your chance to not only get a good deal… but a deal you could be bragging about until next year’s Amazon Prime Day!

What Makes Amazon Prime Day Different

Unlike Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, which can last for a week after the actual day, Amazon Prime Day will end at the stroke of midnight of July 17th…Eastern Standard Time. Don't wait, take the right steps today to maximize your Amazon Prime Day Experience!
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DirecTV Now is the Future of Television!

The future of television is here.  No more missing work for installations; no more long contracts; DirecTV Now is here! It is the future of television!

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DirecTV Now is the Future of Television!
What a wonderful time to be alive!  The future of television is here.  No more missing work for installations; no more long contracts; no more clunky TV boxes and tangled wires; and most importantly, no more overspending.  DirecTV Now is here!

The state of cable television today

Live TV streaming services are the future of television, and you can expect that every cable TV monopoly (err… I mean, company) in America will be creating their own version of it.  Dish Network was the first to pioneer this trend with Sling TV.  As with Netflix and Hulu, all you need is a good Internet connection (preferably 5 Mbps per device streaming) and a smart device.  Presently, there are only a handful of these live TV streaming services.  We’re going to take an in-depth look at DirecTV’s lovechild, DirecTV Now. Four years after purchasing DirecTV, AT&T has seen the writing on the wall.  Mainstream America is becoming less and less smitten with satellite installations, two-year contracts, and $7 leasing charges for each TV box per month.  A household with four TVs on a middle-of-the-pack channel package with DirecTV averages around $150 per month.  After the first year, new customer promotional pricing expires.  If you have unlimited data, streaming services like Netflix ($8/month) and Hulu ($7.99/month) are proving more economical to the family piggy bank.  DirecTV is not the only cable company suffering to this new trend in America.  Everyone is.

The deets

AT&T’s answer to the problem is DirecTV Now. Popular TV channels, along with local and regional sports networks, can all be broadcast live from any device that can connect to the Internet (tablets, smartphones, laptops, PC’s, smart TVs, etc.).  Don’t have a smart TV?  No problem.  Turn your dumb TV into a smart TV with Google Chromecast, Roku, Amazon Firestick, or Apple TV.  DirecTV Now is currently offering a promotion that will give you a free Roku, valued at $49.99, if you prepay for one month of service at full price, which can be as low as $35. If you aren’t happy with the service, you can cancel after the first month with no penalty and get a $15 discount on a Roku.  Not too bad if you ask me!  They have another promotion for you Apple-lovers where if you prepay for 3 months at full price, which can be as low as $105, you get a free AppleTV.  That’s a retail value of $179. If you’re already up-to-date with today’s technology, then the above promotion probably means nothing to you.  So, DirecTV Now’s promotion for $10 for the first 3 months on the “Live a Little” package will probably tickle your fancy better.  At $10 a month, you get 60+ channels which includes your local channels and pretty much all the top channels that most people would want to watch.  After three months, the price reverts to the regular rate of $35.  I can handle a $35 cable bill, and I’m pretty sure you can, too.  And did I mention you can cancel or start back up at any time? There’s also one more promotion you can take advantage of where you try the service free for a week and see if it’s worth paying the full retail price for whatever channel package you choose, but I feel like the two promotions I mentioned above are much better.  I mean, I could easily blow $10 on a McDonald’s drive-thru lunch session, so why not get TV for a month instead? Below are the lineups showing the most popular channels for all the packages offered by DirecTV Now. Pretty much every main channel is covered in these packages.  And did you notice that it’s just $5 for HBO?  Pretty sweet deal for all you Game of Thrones fans.  I’d bend the knee to that (that reference will only make sense to GoT fans).  Seriously, though, this is where DirecTV Now really wins: their premium channel pricing. Setup is easy, but you do need to be mindful that whichever promotion you settle on, your credit card will be set to auto-charge itself whenever a payment is due; if you plan on canceling, you will need to do it manually.

Working out the kinks

Not everything is all peaches and cream with DirecTV Now. It’s still in its early stages, so there are still bugs.  Reports of On Demand shows appearing as available when they really aren’t is the most often reported bug.  It’s highly annoying when the latest episode of “The Bachelor” is not even available to view and you can’t find out who got the rose tonight! The DVR service is still in its beta form.  Beta is already a warning sign that you can expect issues.  Right now, the service only offers 20 hours of cloud storage space for recordings and will hang onto them for 30 days. That’s not horrible but 20 hours I could fill up in less than a week if I’m adulting enough and not watching television.  There was an announcement that 100 hours will be available later this year as an add-on feature.  Another drawback to the DVR is that you can’t at this early stage of the app rewind live TV.  And pausing live TV will only freeze the current programming, and when you press play, instead of picking up where you left off, it plays what’s live again.  So, there’s no real point in pausing anything live if it’s only going to play what’s live when you press play.  Recordings will play, pause, rewind, and fast forward like any other DVR you’ve ever used. DirecTV Now as of right now will only allow you to stream on 2 devices at a time.  As with Netflix, you can add one more device to stream at the same time for $5 more.  I’m sure once Live TV streaming services become more prevalent, the competitive market will force this to increase at little to no cost.  Time will only tell with that one.

The future of television

Other than these minor setbacks, DirecTV Now looks like it’s going to be a staple in many households for years to come and it’s only going to get better just if the pricing doesn’t start mimicking its satellite pricing.  Offering more TV channels for your money than its main competitor, Sling TV, a great HD picture quality (4k on its way), and a user-friendly interface, DirecTV Now looks destined to have a bright future within the Live TV streaming market. Here’s a bold prediction but I feel it in my bones: DirecTV Now and its Live TV streaming competitors will be the norm in America within the next 10 years.  Receiving your cable TV from a cable line or satellite will become ancient technology like the car phone. The only thing coming in on that cable line or satellite will be high-speed internet.  This is a good thing and we just need to embrace it with fatter wallets and purses.