HBO to offer stand- alone streaming service
Cord- cutters rejoice: HBO announced Wednesday it plans to offer an online- only streaming service next year, meaning consumers would no longer need a cable subscription to access HBO programming. ( Or bother your aunt for her HBO GO password so you can illegally watch “Game of Thrones.”)
The move, which many customers have been waiting for, would put the premium cable network in a better position to compete with subscription video services like Netflix, which in its own bit of news Wednesday revealed that it will make all 10 seasons, 236 episodes and 83 hours of “Friends” available exclusively on Jan. 1.
HBO’s a la carte approach is sure to be causing angst in the arena of cable TV, which has gotten away with charging high prices for bundled packages made up of a bunch of channels most consumers don’t watch. Cable executives are probably bracing for the other shoe to drop, and by shoe, I mean ESPN.
HBO chairman and CEO Richard Plepler unveiled the big news during an investor meeting of the network’s parent company, Time Warner.
According to an HBO press release, Plepler cited significant growth opportunities inside the pay- TV universe and then turned to the current 10 million broadband- only homes, which is projected to climb.
“That is a large and growing opportunity that should no longer be left untapped,” he said. “It is time to remove all barriers to those who want HBO.
“So, in 2015, we will launch a stand- alone, over- the- top HBO service in the United States,” Plepler added, without going into pricing details or specifics about how extensive the HBO programming library would be on this new service. “We will work with our current partners. And, we will explore models with new partners. All in, there are 80 million homes that do not have HBO and we will use all means at our disposal to go after them.”