You are viewing the archive: “Michael Lombardo”

Brands And Binge Viewing Dominate HRTS Cable Chiefs Panel

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Wednesday February 27, 2013 @ 2:57pm PSTTags: HBO, Hollywood Radio and Television Society, Michael Lombardo, Nancy Dubuc, Steve Koonin

“The studios are not in brand conversations. It’s not a filmmaker’s medium anymore. We’re in the brand play business,” HBO Programming President Michael Lombardo said today during the Hollywood Radio And Television Society Cable Chiefs lunch in Beverly Hills. Brands and binge viewing were the primary topics of conversation among the panel that featured Lombardo, A+E Networks President, Entertainment and Media Nancy Dubuc and Turner Entertainment Networks president Steve Koonin. Ben Silverman was moderator. “You’re seeing a number of storytellers unable to work in the studio system”, Lombardo continued. “The paradigm has shifted; serious adult drama is happening on cable. That’s what people talk about on Monday — it’s the cable show they saw, not the movies anymore”. Said Dubuc, “We each have our own brand fulfillment and it is our jobs to not only manage that but to evolve it.”

Koonin cut to the chase: “Brands are the temple we worship at,” he quipped to laughter as he described the work and metrics that went into developing TNT’s “We Know Drama” tagline. “When you manage a brand you have to be consistent,” he said. “Basic cable has become an oxymoron now, there is nothing basic about it”. He added: We’ve changed our marketing strategy. We’re going to market from green light to finale, though I shouldn’t say that. We have to give people reason after reason after reason, I can go on and on, to get it,” Koonin said. READ MORE »

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HBO Brass ‘Cautiously Optimistic’ About Ninth Season Of ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday July 28, 2011 @ 7:36pm PDTTags: HBO, Larry David, Michael Lombardo, TCA Summer Tour, Television Critics Association
Nellie Andreeva

True to his neurotic and highly insecure character on the show, Curb Your Enthusiasm creator/star Larry David has been largely puzzled by the ratings resurgence of his HBO series this season, which has been posting seven-year highs for its first … Read More »

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TCA: Bill Maher Renewed, ‘Agency’ Alive & More News From HBO’s Executive Session

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday July 28, 2011 @ 3:04pm PDTTags: HBO, Luck, Michael Lombardo, TCA Press Tour, Television Critics Association, The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency
Nellie Andreeva

HBO has picked up talk show Real Time With Bill Maher for a 10th season, the pay cable network announced today at the top of its portion of the summer TCA press tour. Maher recently landed another Emmy nomination for best Variety, Music or Comedy Series, the 27th Emmy nom overall for his HBO series, which is still pursuing its first win. Maher made a brief appearance. “I’m here representing the Hollywood elite,” he said before introducing HBO toppers Co-President Richard Plepler and president of programming Michael Lombardo.

-Lombardo said that Luck, Michael Mann/David Milch’s race track drama, will premiere at the beginning of January and will take over the slot vacated by the departed HBO polygamy drama Big Love. Other premiere date news: Sunday, Sept. 25 (Boardwalk Empire), Oct. 2 (Hung, How to Make It in America), Monday, Oct. 10, (Bored to Death,Enlightened). Lombardo said that HBO brass are “nervously optimistic” about opening a new night of originals on Monday.

-The 2008 drama series The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency is not dead. Lombardo said that the network has just received a couple of new scripts for the Botswana-set drama and are considering continuing it as 2 or more standalone films.

-Plepler and Lombardo had no ETA on when the network’s popular HBO Go on-demand service will be available on one-time corporate sibling Time Warner Cable. “We wish we had the leverage and power to move TWC,” Plepler said, urging customers to put pressure on the cable company. “We’re working as fast as we can to finish the deal.”

-Plepler called the TV Academy’s recent decision to merge the best original movie and miniseries categories “disappointing for us.” “It prevents some writers, director, producers from being recognized but there is nothing we can do about it.” Added Lombardo, “They are 2 distinct genres. (The TV Academy has) separate categories for different kinds of reality shows and yet there is one combined for movies and miniseries. But it is what it is.” Read More »

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TCA: There Could Be ‘Entourage The Movie’

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Saturday August 7, 2010 @ 4:28pm PDTTags: Doug Ellin, Entourage, Entourage Movie, HBO, HBO TCA Executive Session, Michael Lombardo, TCA

Ray Richmond is contributing to Deadline’s coverage of TCA.

The long-running HBO comedy series Entourage will end its run on the network next summer with 6 episodes. Then showrunner Doug Ellin will consider turning it into a possible film featuring the existing cast. The announcement was made this afternoon at HBO’s … Read More »

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WME Agent’s Vasectomy & Masturbation In Development For Marriage Sitcom At HBO

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Friday July 16, 2010 @ 12:30pm PDTTags: Agents, HBO, HBO Sue Naegle, ICM, Jordon Nardino, Michael Lombardo, Steve Levinson, Sue Naegle, WME

brandts2EXCLUSIVE: I’ve learned that HBO has just bought a comedy pitch based on the modern day Lucy-&-Ricky 10-year marriage of Brandt and Nikki Joel. Brandt, 45, is head of WME’s talent department, and Nikki, 38, is a former ICM agent. Gilmore Girls … Read More »

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RATINGS RAT RACE: HBO’s ‘True Blood’ Dips In Week 2 & ‘Treme’ Ends Season 1

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday June 22, 2010 @ 12:03pm PDTTags: Cable TV, HBO, Michael Lombardo, Ratings, Showtime, The L Word, The Real L Word, The Tudors, Treme, True Blood, TV Ratings, Vampires
Nellie Andreeva

hbo_smallOn the heels of True Blood‘s renewal yesterday for Season 4, HBO released ratings for the Sunday second episode of the vampire drama’s current third season. True Blood drew 4.3 million viewers, down modest 14% from the heavily promoted and highly-rated season … Read More »

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