HBO Asia celebrated its 25th anniversary with a party in Singapore only hours after unveiling its biggest original production slate ever. CEO Jonathan Spink talks about the opportunities, the challenges, and the things he would do differently.

What about HBO Asia today are you most proud of?

“We are more relevant than ever despite the changing market and are well positioned for the future. We have a great brand and great programming, including the biggest programme in the world. There are issues, but we are well positioned for future growth.”

What’s the biggest growth opportunity you see coming for HBO in Asia in the next 12 months?

“The increased ability to sell our services through HBO Go and the flexibility to increase our audience. We’re very positive about the originals we have done. We had an epiphany with The Teenage Psychic about language. [The Teenage Psychic was shot in Mandarin] That opens up huge opportunities to produce relevant content for individual countries and for the region.”

What do you think the biggest challenge for Asia’s subscription video business is?

“The biggest challenge we face, genuinely, is piracy. The ability to access content for free illegally is a challenge. It’s good to see that there is increased effort against this.”

What would you say is the most significant change in the way HBO operates today from the way it did when you arrived in 2004?

“We are significantly more flexible. We are proactive in what we are doing. We’ve added a huge number of services to the business, including plex channels, on demand, and HBO Go. The technology has changed but in many ways it’s still television. It has more definition, but it’s still a TV screen. We can argue that there are huge changes, but one could also say there are none. The technology and delivery has changed but the business is the same: You have to have great content and be able to reach an audience. We need to deliver what they want to watch and what they will pay for. The fact that they can watch it on multiple screens hasn’t changed the fundamentals.”

When you think about the slate of Originals that will be unveiled on Thursday (30 November), what’s the word or phrase that comes to you first?

“Expansive.”

How big are your ambitions for HBO Asia Originals?

“Significant. HBO’s backbone is original content in the U.S. and we would like it to be the same in Asia. We have shown that these series work and that we can do good things. We are very bullish on originals and new production, and very keen to do them in all sorts of places with all sorts of people.”

Is there anything you would do differently if you could?

“We should have done original programming sooner.”

What tops your list of frustrations about running a premium entertainment biz in Asia?

“Piracy. A lot of hard work by a lot of people, be it in original production, not only ours but everyones... is stolen and people think that’s okay.”

What do you watch? “The one I’m most proud of so far in Asia is The Teenage Psychic.”

What TV series are you looking forward to watching next? “The next season of Peaky Blinders.”

This interview was first published in ContentAsia eNewsletter on 27 November 2017