HBO boss reacts to Apple TV winning more Emmy awards

Apple TV won big at the Emmys last night, taking home more awards than any other competitor, including HBO. Here’s what HBO boss Casey Bloys said in response to Apple’s victory.

HBO head praises Apple TV but says going against trillion-dollar company is ‘a little scary’

Apple TV has long been compared to HBO, with both services prioritizing quality over quantity. Apple has even been called “the new HBO” at times.

Last night’s Emmy awards helped add more support for that claim, with Apple TV beating out HBO, Netflix, and other contenders for the most prizes.

Apple TV became the “most awarded network of the year” with 29 wins overall, including a big night for Widow’s Bay. In second place: HBO with 21 wins.

HBO boss Casey Bloys was asked by Deadline after the awards show for his reaction to Apple’s performance. Here’s what he said:

DEADLINE: What did you think about Apple TV’s performance and their first time finishing as the No. 1 platform at the Emmys?

BLOYS: Well, I’m very happy because I think that they’re very handsome competitors, Zack and Jamie. Look, we’ve had very formidable competitors in going back to Showtime, FX, AMC, Netflix, Amazon, so [when] Apple, everybody, keeps us on our toes, I think we do our best work. It’s a little scary that they’re a trillion-dollar company, but we’ll continue to do what we do, which is put out the best shows that we can.

Bloys has been at HBO since 2004 and became head of all programming in 2016. He’s had a very successful run, and his response to Apple’s win is largely gracious and congratulatory.

However, the most interesting part of the quote is where he says: “It’s a little scary that they’re a trillion-dollar company.”

We don’t know internal budget details for Apple TV specifically. But Apple overall certainly does have more financial leeway than the majority of its competitors—including HBO.

Not so coincidentally, Paramount is trying to buy HBO (and all of Warner Bros. Discovery) in order to better compete with tech giants like Apple and Amazon.

Does Apple’s size automatically give it an edge? Maybe. But as plenty of networks have proven before, money is just one small part of creating beloved content.

Apple TV is available for $14.99 per month, or you can get it discounted through the Apple One bundle.

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