is not just a landmark moment in pop culture. It's also an enormously significant event for Australia's $4 billion a year pay TV business.
Foxtel's earnings have been under serious pressure - last quarter they plunged by 84 per cent according to calculations by Morgan Stanley - with customers cancelling or downgrading their packages and opting for cheaper streaming services. Under Plepler, HBO churned out a string of zeitgeist capturing hit series. Whether that continues without him and under AT&Ts stewardship, remains to be seen.
Greenfield has argued that AT&T would need to go all in on streaming to build a viable competitor to Netflix. That would mean putting all of its content into one consumer facing brand, and giving up lucrative licensing fees from its distributors.
jmcduling this is a great piece John snaps for putting a business spin on a Zeitgeist event.