Excellent point - I was going to add brand to my above reply but didn't in the interest of time (and because I'd probably attribute brand to experience).
HBO has a quality seal of approval that has taken 15 years to cultivate. That can't be bought or earned overnight from one show. HBO consistently gets more Emmy nominations than every other network -- once Netflix is able to counter in that area, then it will happen.
Still, getting over the hump can happen. Look at AMC. Before Mad Men and The Walking Dead, they were best known for the terrible original series Remember WENN (don't ask, it sucked and I was in 7th grade when it premiered). Now it's easily one of the best networks on TV. Same for FX. Justified, Always Sunny, Sons of Anarchy, Archer, The Americans are all fantastic and this was a brand that was best-known for playing Fox reruns until about 7 years ago.
Here's the thing--I didn't even know, until your comment, what channel Archer was on because I watch it on Netflix. That's what HBO is looking out for.
HBO has a quality seal of approval that has taken 15 years to cultivate. That can't be bought or earned overnight from one show. HBO consistently gets more Emmy nominations than every other network -- once Netflix is able to counter in that area, then it will happen.
Still, getting over the hump can happen. Look at AMC. Before Mad Men and The Walking Dead, they were best known for the terrible original series Remember WENN (don't ask, it sucked and I was in 7th grade when it premiered). Now it's easily one of the best networks on TV. Same for FX. Justified, Always Sunny, Sons of Anarchy, Archer, The Americans are all fantastic and this was a brand that was best-known for playing Fox reruns until about 7 years ago.