How Netflix could finally beat HBO

The video-streaming service has passed the premiere cable channel in subscribers

"Game of Thrones"
(Image credit: (Facebook.com/GameofThrones))

"The goal," Ted Sarandos, chief content officer for Netflix, told GQ earlier this year, "is to become HBO faster than HBO can become us."

That wasn't just empty talk. This week, Netflix announced that it had passed 30 million domestic subscribers, beating HBO's 28.7 million, according to analysts from SNL Kagan.

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Keith Wagstaff is a staff writer at TheWeek.com covering politics and current events. He has previously written for such publications as TIME, Details, VICE, and the Village Voice.