(Business 2.0) – As the fifth and last season of The Sopranos gets under way on March 7, the pressure is on at Home Box Office. Its other franchise series, Sex and the City, began its final run in January, raising questions about how the cable channel will generate new revenue growth. The answer lies partly in syndication and other nonsubscription businesses like DVD sales and joint ventures in box-office film. And of course, HBO has to keep the TV hits coming. Execs hope that Deadwood, a western premiering March 21, will give fans who are mourning Sex and The Sopranos a reason to keep coming back.