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The Big Take

When Netflix and HBO Turned on Each Other, They Forged a New Era of Television

The defining rivalry of the streaming-TV era began with an insult and a sneak attack. An exclusive adaptation from It’s Not TV: The Spectacular Rise, Revolution, and Future of HBO.

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Illustration: Connor Willumsen for Bloomberg Businessweek

Jeffrey Bewkes scanned his mind, searching for the perfect war metaphor.

It was December 2010. Bewkes, the tall, dry-witted CEO of Time Warner Inc., one of the largest, most powerful media conglomerates on the planet, was speaking with the New York Times. The topic: Netflix Inc. On Wall Street and in the media, people were gushing over the disruptive potential of the California upstart. Just recently, Time Warner’s top business magazine, Fortune, had named Reed Hastings, the CEO of Netflix, as its Businessperson of the Year.

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