If The goal of HBO is to expand the audience beyond HBO's core demographics, they are going to invest a lot more Billions to make that happen. To do that, the company will need to take a more Netflix-like approach with its HBO Max original, IT will cost lots of money, and luck.
That means more risks, in an environment that is not favoring Telcos, more shows that appeal to a section of the audience outside of HBO's core?. Those series might not get high ratings, but they will attract and retain new subscribers?
AT&T is investing $4 billion in HBO Max over the next three years, just in programming costs, It should be looking to invest a lot more that money like Netflix, not like HBO, in order to grow its subscriber base big enough and fast enough to offset the huge cost with lots of luck.