“Game Of Thrones” To Be Cut In 20-Minute Mini-Episodes? AT&T Head Says It’s “Ideal” For Mobile Viewing In The Future

Watch a lot of “Game Of Thrones” on your mobile phone? According to at least one mobile company boss, the HBO fantasy drama might be seeing itself cut down in 20-minute video segments.

Speaking Tuesday morning at J.P. Morgan’s Global Technology, Media and Telecom Conference, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said, “I’ll cause [HBO CEO Richard] Plepler to panic. [But] think about things like “Game of Thrones.” In a mobile environment, a 60-minute episode might not be the best experience. Maybe you want a 20-minute episode.”

Stephenson is suggesting that the company is seeing an opportunity to get more revenue on mobile content distribution. Moviepilot thinks that Stephenson’s idea of reducing the show’s customary 60-minute episode will allow some mobile viewers who prefer to watch an entire episode in a shorter running time. It still begs to be known whether this move would be appreciated by “Game of Thrones” fans.

Don Kaye for SyFy Wire said cutting down “Game of Thrones” episodes would be next to impossible. He argued, “Of course he doesn't. He's not a creator, so he's not interested in the best storytelling experience; instead, he's interested in making things "convenient" for customers to use on their phones, so they can get to the next thing. But convenience and the creative arts don't often go hand in hand, with Game of Thrones being a prime example. Would you want to watch a 20-minute version of an episode like "Blackwater" or "Hardhome," stripped down to essentially a "best-of" montage? Even cutting a 60-minute episode into three smaller blocks would play havoc with pacing, editing and the building of tension or drama.”