Would be a sad day. I typically equate HBO content with focused quality, and Netflix content as the opposite.
Yet they've failed, I think it's a culture problem. Buy HBO and hopefully carry over the culture and skills to Netflix that way is pretty much they only hope. Netflix created a few good series, but it's also clear that they don't have the writing talent to produce the volume they want.
Netflix can produce absolutely beautify shows, but they're not well written. They also can't buy content, because a large number of the license holders have their own streaming platform. Buying HBO could get them access to the content they need, if the contracts and licensing carry over.
I am convinced they’re hyper focused on the wrong metrics, and don’t take long term retention into consideration.