Series VI. Home Box Office Records, 1972-1987, inclusive

The Chairman Gerald Levin Files cover the period of 1972 to 1981. The materials in this subseries focus Home Box Office's (HBO) finances as well as early promotional efforts for the new cable television channel. While the majority of materials come from the period that Levin was chairman of HBO's board, there are a few items from the time that Levin was vice president of the Video group. Since the majority of materials are related to his time as HBO chair, the materials have been included in the HBO series. Included in this subseries are cassette tapes, Home Box Office (HBO) channel guides and newsletters, production rate cards, ad drafts, press releases, satellite network maps, clippings, issues of American Way magazine, press kits, preliminary budgets, notes, agreements, staff lists, project proposals, meeting agendas, cable television industry convention guides and pamphlets, Sterling Manhattan television maps, Sterling Communications annual and shareholders reports, employee manuals, re-estimates, two-year and five-year plans, executive meeting summaries, sales volume budgets, cable television booklets, NCTA (National Cable and Telecommunications Association) convention daily magazine and newsletter, VUE magazines, CATV directories, reports, and correspondence. The reports included discuss the status of projects, subscription sales, task force meetings, budgets, the impact of new rules and regulations, new business acquisitions, Video Group planning conferences, and consumer cable choices. The correspondence discusses budget plans, travel plans, video group performance, via cable work, 5-year plans, Home Box Office (HBO) status updates, lunch meeting agenda, news channel concepts, and HBO News. HBO News was a proposed project that would either be a new cable channel or news show that would broadcast news to HBO subscribers.

The Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Glenn Britt Files cover the period of 1984 to 1987 and contains mainly correspondence. While the majority of materials are from the period where Britt served as vice president at Home Box Office (HBO), there are also materials from when he served as Time Inc. treasurer. In addition to correspondence sent to Britt, there is also correspondence sent to Charlene Bitzas, Britt's assistant. The correspondence included in this subseries discuss guarantees, background research, lunches, reports, meetings, project updates, meeting notes, invoices, schedule, account signatories, budget allotments, reimbursements, operating review, and technology and equipment. In addition to correspondence, there is a small amount of financial ledgers, invoices, document retention lists, call books, press releases, employee goals, and department goals.

The Advertising and Sales Training Materials cover the period of 1972 to 1984 and mainly contains materials from the launch Home Box Office (HBO) that were used to train new sales staff as well as materials related to early ad campaigns. Additionally, there a group of materials that were sent to the archive in 1984 that contain copies of ads from 1972 when HBO was launched. Included in this subseries are phone books of HBO staff, HBO ad pamphlets, HBO how to sell guide, HBO sales representative Q and A workbooks, notes, sales and financial analysis reports, HBO media handbooks, HBO binder with press kit, packaged HBO sales training cassettes, and sales training manuals. There is also a limited amount of correspondence which discuss pay cable network proposals.