https://www.cbr.com/hbo-change-direction-warnermedia/

HBO, which is a part of the AT&T network, has significant adjustments ahead of it. Even though AT&T promised, as The New York Times wrote, “to take a hands-off approach to the company’s crown jewel, HBO, which has won endless Emmys while generating billions in profits.” The town hall suggested that AT&T will guide how HBO does business in this new phase.

For instance, Stankey suggested that HBO would have to become more like a streaming service to stay on top and compete. To increase subscriber base and viewer watching hours, HBO will have to focus on becoming less of niche network and more of a bigger, broader service.

“I want more hours of engagement,” he said. “Why are more hours of engagement important? Because you get more data and information about a customer that then allows you to do things like monetize through alternate models of advertising as well as subscriptions, which I think is very important to play in tomorrow’s world.”
Translation: We want to destroy everything that makes HBO good and turn it into just another streaming service. But hey, at least we can sell customer data.