Colorado sits right next to California, so the flight from LA to Denver only takes three hours.
After touching down, Dunn and his crew headed straight to the headquarters of the TA Network.
Premium cable TV used to be a niche market—edgy content, steep subscription fees, mostly the domain of adult channels. Then HBO and Showtime jumped in, quickly carving out their own turf and breathing new life into the space.
Back in the early '90s, cable mogul John Malone spotted the potential in premium cable. He tasked two of his lieutenants, Tony Granmo and Martin Donwen, with building a network to rival HBO and Showtime. That's how the TA Network was born.
But John Malone was a step ahead of everyone—he had almost uncanny foresight. When the internet boom hit, he saw the looming crisis for traditional TV. Convinced the industry would take a beating, he started offloading assets like crazy.
In that wave, Dunn swooped in and snatched up the TA Network.
After the acquisition, Dunn didn't rush to shake things up. He waited a full year before making moves. This year, with Dunn Films pooling all its resources to grow the premium cable game, he finally shook up the personnel.
The two founders, Tony Granmo and Martin Donwen, got the axe out of nowhere, replaced by Chris Albrecht, a content genius Dunn poached from HBO. Now, Chris and his 17-person team had been at TA for nearly two months, and Dunn was here to check the results.
The office building was shiny and new, a sign of TA's short history.
Chris Albrecht, decked out in a suit, led a lineup of execs to greet Dunn at the entrance from a distance.
Dunn almost cracked up at the sight.
Guess Americans know how to put on a show too!
Smiling, he shook hands with everyone. When he got to Chris, he couldn't help but tease, "Cut this out next time. We're a company—results matter, not bureaucracy!"
Chris grinned. "Just this once! Wanted you to see the team's spirit. Plus, they're all your fans—dying to meet you, shake your hand. Couldn't say no."
Dunn glanced around, nodding with approval. "Looks like you're doing solid work."
Ousting TA's founders had caused a ripple—six more from the original crew followed them out the door. That kind of shakeup could've tanked morale, but Chris had pulled off the management transition in under two months, rallying the staff back to work.
That alone was a big win.
On top of that, he'd revamped content for TA's flagship channels, Tarz and Enre, modeling them after HBO's setup—HBO 1 for polished, gripping dramas and movies, and its sister channel CineMax for cheaper, raunchier stuff. This clear content split, paired with the hot series Six Feet Under, had sent TA's installs, subscribers, and viewership skyrocketing!
Now, TA was in over 38 million homes, with only 8 million still on free trials. That meant over 30 million households across the U.S. had tuned into Tarz—a huge leap from the 8 million it had served in its first seven years before May this year.
That's a hell of an achievement!
Paid subscribers hadn't topped HBO or Showtime yet, but the growth was eye-popping. HBO had 7.5 million North American subscribers, Showtime 5.1 million. TA? It had just broken the 4 million mark!
Over 70% of subscribers picked the $9.99 three-month plan, 25% went for the $45.99 six-month deal, and 5% shelled out $89.99 for a full year. In the past two months alone, TA's subscription revenue had topped $100 million!
That cash flowed through Comcast, the operator, which took an 8% cut for services before passing the rest to TA. But it wasn't instant—settlements happened every six months. So, Comcast could sit on that pile until later this year, raking in millions in interest just by parking it in the bank.
A cash cow like that had Comcast execs floored. Dunn was about to hit it big!
Dunn had been worried Comcast and Viacom might team up to squeeze TA out, but now? That massive payout had Comcast's CEO, Brian Roberts, personally calling to congratulate him.
Simple math: Tarz, with just over 4 million subscribers, pulled in $100 million in two months. Nickelodeon, with over 88 million subscribers, averaged less than $40 million in the same stretch. Sure, TA's spike was a one-off while Nick's was steady, but the gap between cheap basic cable and premium cable was glaring.
If TA kept this momentum, its future was limitless!
Chris led Dunn's group through the offices, where staff greeted him with buzzing enthusiasm. Dunn was pleased with their vibe and chatted with Chris as they walked. "It's Saturday—nobody's griping about working overtime?"
Chris laughed. "TV's a weird gig. If everyone's off, there's no show. We rotate shifts. Plus, tomorrow's the second-to-last episode of Six Feet Under's first season—viewership's gonna spike. Everyone's pumped."
Six Feet Under had 13 episodes, airing one per weekend in primetime since June 3rd. Eleven were already out, with the penultimate hitting tomorrow, August 12th.
"Oh?" Dunn's eyes lit up, eager. "Viewership's gonna climb higher?"
"Subscriber viewership, not ratings—we're cable, so ratings don't mean much," Chris said, shaking his head all serious-like.
Dunn rolled his eyes. Chris wasn't exactly smooth—no wonder he'd clashed with higher-ups at HBO. A little annoyed, he shot back, "Then give me something that does mean something!"
Chris gave an awkward chuckle. "Viewership's definitely jumping. We've got a growth curve—barring surprises, tomorrow night's hitting over 2 million viewers."
With just over 4 million subscribers, half tuning in for Six Feet Under was already impressive. Even HBO at its peak with Westworld averaged 12 million viewers per episode across platforms. For Six Feet Under to pull these numbers in this era, on this stage, was downright stunning.
After all, Band of Brothers was just one show!
"How long till subscribers top Showtime?" Dunn asked, throwing a tough one.
Chris answered carefully. "TA's endgame is beating HBO, but we're still new. Showtime's got decades behind it. To knock them off… I'd say after Band of Brothers airs, riding its hype. HBO? Give me three years."
Dunn raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Two months ago, you weren't singing that tune!"
Chris frowned, voice low. "Back then, I said I'd topple HBO in a year. But after taking over TA, I saw the hardware and software lag behind HBO big-time. I need time to overhaul everything."
Dunn went quiet, then laughed. "Chris, sounds like you don't have enough faith in Band of Brothers! I dropped $80 million on its North American rights—not just to beat Showtime."
"One miniseries taking down HBO? Tough sell," Chris said, shaking his head. "Cable's a long game. One show won't lock in viewers—they need a steady stream of quality. Watch Band of Brothers, sure, but a few months later, they might ditch TA."
Dunn nodded. "Exactly. Band of Brothers alone won't cut it. We need more, better shows—constant pull to tie viewers down. Dunn Films already greenlit Six Feet Under Season 2 and The Wire this year. October's got a comic adaptation, The Punisher, starting up. You've got your content crew from HBO—nothing good in the works?"
"There's one in the brainstorming phase."
"What's that?"
"An urban comedy. Sex and the City was female-driven; this one's got two male leads—guys chasing the Hollywood dream, trying to make it as stars."
Dunn's eyes narrowed. He pegged it instantly—HBO's Entourage, which aired in 2004.
"No copyright issues?"
"Nope. It's just an idea right now. Back at HBO, we never put anything on paper—just talked it out."
"Hm."
Dunn squinted, wheels turning.
Chris, a former comedian, was a pro at funny stuff. Sure, he'd later championed big-budget epics like Rome and Spartacus, but that was years off. Jumping to TA, you'd expect him to flex with a splashy hit to prove himself. Instead, he's tinkering with a comedy? Guy's still playing it safe.
Dunn took a deep breath. Looks like the heavy lifting on content was still on him!
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