- WarnerMedia SVP Duan Peng and her group make the most of knowledge insights To draw And have interplay HBO Max subscribers.
- HBO Max buyers view two hours of content material a day and Gen Z buyers view extra licensed content material than uniques.
- Duan revealed what she appears for on her group: nice technical expertise and A Method of curiosity.
HBO Max
has Discover your self to be a platform for buzzy unique content material since launching Inside the throes of the pandemic in Might 2020, signing up 14 million subscribers by the third quarter of 2021, The agency informed Insider, who eat reveals Simply like the Emmy-worthwhile “Hacks” and the “Gossip Woman” reboot.
And whereas credit rating ought to go to content material makers, the streamer’s continued progress May even be the handiwork of HBO Max’s knowledge and AI group, led by WarnerMedia senior Vice chairman Duan Peng, who analyzes troves Of information and make the most ofs the insights therein to drive subscriber engagement and retention.
The Taiwan-born Duan, who joined HBO final yr after serving as Vice chairman Of information science at Disney, runs the group that research buyer knowledge and develops analytics and machine-studying algorithms. These devices assist HBO Max drive advertising efforts, advocate personalised content material advocateations to subscribers, and supply an general greater buyer expertise, Duan informed Insider.
HBO Max’s knowledge and AI efforts stay Inside the early levels of enchancment however already, the group has recognized Higher than 250 conductal “alerts” associated to buyer conduct, collectively with which models they watch on, As quickly as they watch, and Whether or not or not they watch a curlease or A film.
Subscribers, For event, watch A imply of two hours of content material a day, Duan informed Insider, with Gen Z viewers watching extra licensed content material than unique reveals. (HBO and HBO Max subscribers mixed numbered 69.4 million On The prime of Q3, The agency said in its earnings report Thursday.)
Data additionally assisted informationrm the app’s enchancment of a current devoted spotlight Website for Latin Heritage Month (September 15-October 15), which spotlighted films, Tv reveals, and documentaries centered on Latino tradition.
“The information actually assists us understand our buyers — how buyers are interappearing with our platform, how they eat the content material — and we use these useful insights To actually assist drive these selections and To reinformationrce our planning and our operations,” deniced Duan.
To shore up its efforts, the knowledge and AI group has Higher than tripled Over the previous yr and plans To lease significantly extra knowledge scientists over The subsequent 12 months, although HBO declined To curlease numbers.
Duan, who performs an instrumental position in hiring, appears for candidates with strong technical expertise and A strong understanding of utilized sciences like cloud platforms, deep studying, and AI. But equally as important, she said, is constructing groups of curious, quick learners.
“This space is booming,” said Duan. “Our path is altering. … I really feel we’re Looking for The combination of these expertise, the hardcore technical expertise and an open thoughts When it Includes people displaying strong curiosity, and that regular studying performance.”
Already, there’s An limitless demand for knowledge scientists in Hollywood, with rivals collectively with
Netflix
, Disney+, and
Hulu
all actively seeking to fill knowledge science positions, Based mostly on itemizingings on The corporations’ job boards. Netflix, which disrupted Hollywood constructings when it started
streaming
reveals in 2007, Is understood for its heavy reliance on knowledge To inform each enterprise And inventive selections.
Duan predicts knowledge science solely Discover your self to be extra integral to The enlargement and success of leisure corporations By way of The subsequent three To 5 yrs.
Two positions, Notably, Shall be in demand, Duan added: generaitemizings appearing as “citizen knowledge scientists” who can carry out reniced evaluation and run statistical fashions, As properly as to extra specialised positions focused on such spaces as pc imaginative and prescient, language processing, and causal modeling.
“I think about knowledge and AI will play An limitless position in The complete space, whether You are a Hollywood agency and turning into extra tech-savvy, or a tech agency turning into extra media-savvy and content material-savvy — they’re all coming collectively,” she predicted. Data and AI, she said, are “On this center floor, connecting the know-how and connecting our viewers and content material.”
