Banff to honour HBO

Premium US cablenet HBO has been named the 2016 Company of Distinction by Canada’s Banff World Media Festival.

HBO’s acclaimed drama Boardwalk Empire

HBO’s chairman and CEO Richard Plepler will deliver the Company of Distinction keynote at the 37th event, which takes place from June 12 to 15 next year in Banff, Alberta.

The title, which honours the most prestigious companies in the TV business, was first awarded in 2013 to CBS Corp and in 2014 went to Lionsgate Entertainment, followed by A+E Networks this year.

HBO executives, producers and talent will be featured throughout the four-day event. The Time Warner subsidiary reaches 122 million subscribers globally with its HBO and Cinemax channels and this year launched a standalone streaming service, HBO NOW, for broadband-only customers in the US.

The network is known for its big-budget dramas such as Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire and The Newsroom, as well as comedies including Veep and Curb Your Enthusiasm.