Thanks for the explanation of the mechanics, I'm not well versed in the TV/Streaming industry dynamics.
So Sony does all the CG and post-production work and HBO just funds most of it and provides a bit of help in the shooting/planning? I wonder what the profit split is for this, or even how HBO really makes money because I assume most of their audience is already locked in to HBO max or Cable. Do they judge success based on new subscribers or something which is somewhat related to peak viewers?
Either way I assume both parties are thrilled with the results of this blowing up like crazy probably far exceeding their expectations, I'm just curious if the profit for Sony on this is much more than what they would make on a movie.
And you're right - the set pieces/clickers/ everything is so truly authentic to the artistic vision of the game. It's absolutely beautiful to watch.
It's actually unclear how profitable this would be for Sony because we aren't privy to the deal and the profit sharing and this being HBO the money isn't actually made based on views. The money is made based on subscriptions, specifically sustained subscriptions and new subscribers, but also as you mentioned cable bundles.
That's what happens when you aren't doing it based on ad revenue.
Then there is also merchandising, dvd,bluray, 4k bluray releases.
And depending on how the distribution deal is, the potential that this show ends up on another network and you also have the ability to sell episodes individually in the future on amazon, apple tv, vudu e.t.c. My guess is that HBO has exclusive rights here but we have no idea whether there is a profit-sharing based of viewership, but you have to assume that if there is no deal for profit sharing or bonuses based on success here, that Season 2 could be very expensive for HBO if there isn't a deal in place to produce it already.
To lure television shows to its platform, Netflix is offering production companies lucrative contracts to buy their shows, then keeping more of the upside if a show takes off. This is making it hard for traditional TV networks to keep pace, while boosting Netflix's revenues long term.
www.cnbc.com
There are a few different revenue models for TV, but it'll be interesting to see if Sony had more confidence in TLOU and got themselves a more favorable deal by putting more of their own money up front.
Ultimately, to answer your question, no I don't think they're making as much as if they were to make a movie, but that's largely because HBO is an external partner, whereas if it were a movie Sony would be involved end to end, IP license, production, distribution, but Sony also knows here that TLOU is not Game of Thrones. You don't have this going for 8 seasons plus another 5 for like House of the Dragon. They might try to expand on TLOU over the next 5-10 years to keep the show going and that's when you start making a serious profit, but short of that movies are riskier, but more likely to pay off in shorter windows. That's why they first wanted to make it a movie instead of a tv show.
