Babar: King of the Elephants is a 1999 animated film made by Nelvana Limited, Homemade Films, and TMO-Loonland and released in theaters in Canada and the U.S. by Alliance Communications and later on home video by HBO Home Video. Based on Jean de Brunhoff's book series, it is the second "Babar" film, following "".
HBO first played Babar: King of the Elephants in the year 1999
The article does not state what year the film played on HBO.  It just states that it played later on HBO which could be the year 2000 or later.  The system got it wrong because it assumed it was played on HBO at the same time it showed in theaters.