HBO & Cinemax for $20 a month for 6 months

[Tecmo SB Guy]

I saw this on TNT last night.

It's a better deal than the previous deal which was $10 off HBO and Cinemax for 6 months.

My question is, can you split that offer? What I mean is can I just get HBO for $10 a month for 6 months and not get Cinemax at all?

I remember they let me split the offer last year. It was HBO and Cinemax at 1/2 price for 6 months but they let me just take HBO for 1/2 price with no Cinemax.

 

[KAB]

You need to ask Dish. Contact Dirt.

 

[king3pj]

I got on my parents account last week to add HBO so I would have HBO Go at my house. I wanted it to catch the current season of Game of Thrones, Veep, Silicon Valley, and to go back and watch True Detective and Eastbound and Down since I missed them this year. My parents won't watch anything on HBO but I was willing to pay them whatever price I could get HBO added for since HBO won't give me a way to pay for it directly without a cable package.

Anyways, I got on Dish chat and asked what they could do for me. First they offered $5 off HBO for 6 months bringing the total to $14 per month. Then they gave me the HBO and Cinemax offer you mentioned for $20. I turned both of those down because I don't need Cinemax and I figured I could get a better price on HBO after GoT is over.

Right as I was getting ready to disconnect I was asked to hold so they could check with their supervisor and see if there was anything else they could do for me. They came back and offered me a $9 credit on the base package for 3 months if I was willing to add HBO to the account at full price. That means I'm basically getting 3 months of HBO at $10 per month. I gladly accepted and wrote my parents a $30 check.

Seeing as this season off GoT will cost more than $30 by itself on iTunes and not be available until next spring I thought it was a good deal. Throw in all the other series I'm catching and I'm definitely coming out on top. Most stuff is available on iTunes the next day but HBO keeps their series exclusive until the DVDs come out.

 

[MikeD-C05]

Boy they are really pushing the HBO pack any way they can. How about lowering the price back to $10.00 and I am sure that many, many of us would bite at the price. At $19.00 a month they are just too high & it isn't worth it at that price .

 

[Tampa8]

For some I can understand. I still get alot of entertainment from HBO and use HBOGO when traveling. But beyond that Subscriptions are up however as it came out in the completely wrong "Study" that had to be retracted about it. I have had HBO since having DISH and they always have had discounts from time to time so that doesn't really explain why they are doing fine with subscriptions.

http://www.thewrap.com/hbo-subscriptions-increase-2-million-17-years/

I don't think this promotion is anything good, unless you really wanted Cinemax also. For those that want HBO only there are much better offers usually.

 

[king3pj]

For some I can understand. I still get alot of entertainment from HBO and use HBOGO when traveling. But beyond that Subscriptions are up however as it came out in the completely wrong "Study" that had to be retracted about it. I have had HBO since having DISH and they always have had discounts from time to time so that doesn't really explain why they are doing fine with subscriptions.

http://www.thewrap.com/hbo-subscriptions-increase-2-million-17-years/

I don't think this promotion is anything good, unless you really wanted Cinemax also. For those that want HBO only there are much better offers usually.

The reason they are doing fine with subscribers is their original series. If it was movies only they would never be able to sell it at that price because their are too many alternatives. People know that HBO always has some of the best series on TV and they are willing to pay for it. People keep hearing great things about True Detective, Game of Thrones, etc... and the only way to be part of that conversation is to pay up so a decent chunk of people are willing to do that.

I agree that HBO charging $19 is ridiculous and I won't pay full price for it. People here know they can get on Dish chat and almost always get it at a discount. If they keep the base price high most of those customers who subscribe to HBO will probably pay full price without realizing they can get it a discount.

Even with discounted pricing HBO Go has made it unnecessary to sign up for the whole year anymore for me. Game of Thrones is the show I have to see the night it comes on so I can be part of the conversation. Everything else can be caught on HBO Go while I'm subscribed for Game of Thrones.

 

[mike123abc]

I agree that HBO charging $19 is ridiculous and I won't pay full price for it. People here know they can get on Dish chat and almost always get it at a discount. If they keep the base price high most of those customers who subscribe to HBO will probably pay full price without realizing they can get it a discount.

The 19 price is set by Dish. HBO varies among cable companies DIRECTV is 18, TWC here is $15, cable companies go from $12 - $20. Look at the huge discount you get from Dish when you bundle with another premium. It is almost like Dish is pricing in a half priced 6 month promo once a year, which if you are good at always getting, works out to an average of $14.25/month.

It is like the department store that marks up something by a third just to have sale discounts look better.

 

[KAB]

I'm sure HBO GO has helped contribute to the increase.

 

[dvrexpander]

I have HBO and Starz package for the discount..would love to get that dropped down half of what it is a while cause its kinda getting out of control.

 

[ncted]

I tried several times to get a discount on HBO yesterday, including via chat and phone. The only deal they would offer me was the HBO/Max one. Caring nothing for what is on Max, I finally gave up and ordered HBO for $19. We will only keep it while GOT is on, and we will watch the past year's series via HBOGO, so it is still a good deal IMHO, but I don't understand why Dish wouldn't make me a better offer. I do autopay and have the AT200. It isn't like I am making them no money. Oh well, this just is just more ammunition for when I am out of contract and want to "cut the cord."

 

[Tampa8]

The reason they are doing fine with subscribers is their original series. If it was movies only they would never be able to sell it at that price because their are too many alternatives. People know that HBO always has some of the best series on TV and they are willing to pay for it. People keep hearing great things about True Detective, Game of Thrones, etc... and the only way to be part of that conversation is to pay up so a decent chunk of people are willing to do that.

I agree that HBO charging $19 is ridiculous and I won't pay full price for it. People here know they can get on Dish chat and almost always get it at a discount. If they keep the base price high most of those customers who subscribe to HBO will probably pay full price without realizing they can get it a discount.

Even with discounted pricing HBO Go has made it unnecessary to sign up for the whole year anymore for me. Game of Thrones is the show I have to see the night it comes on so I can be part of the conversation. Everything else can be caught on HBO Go while I'm subscribed for Game of Thrones.

HBO has had original series for years and years. So while I agree if they just had movies they wouldn't be as popular - having series now is no different then having series all these years. (Soprano's, Deadwood, Boxing, Boardwalk Empire just a sampling) $19 or $19 with some discounts is steep, but so far apparently not too steep. I certainly wouldn't suggest they try any higher.

 

[king3pj]

HBO has had original series for years and years. So while I agree if they just had movies they wouldn't be as popular - having series now is no different then having series all these years. (Soprano's, Deadwood, Boxing, Boardwalk Empire just a sampling) $19 or $19 with some discounts is steep, but so far apparently not too steep. I certainly wouldn't suggest they try any higher.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/allenst...tings-hbos-highest-since-the-sopranos-finale/

Definitely. I think Game of Thrones getting so huge is the main driver of this subscriber increase though. The season premier was the highest rated event on HBO since the Sopranos series finale back in 2007. The Sopranos finale number of 11.9 million viewers puts the GoT season premiere to shame at 6.6 million viewers.

I don't think that 6.6 million in the ratings includes those of us who watched the premier on HBO Go though. DVRs are also much more prevalent today than they were in 2007. There are probably plenty of people who subscribed to HBO for GoT and recorded it but didn't watch in time to be counted in the ratings.

Another thing I find interesting is at the bottom of that article. Game of Thrones is apparently the most pirated show on TV with 5.9 million bit torrent downloads in 2013. The Time Warner CEO is apparently ok with people pirating HBO series because he says that leads to future subscriptions.

 

[rajmarie]

They are ok because they believe that piracy has actually increased their subscribers and as posted has actually increased their ratings

Posted Via The FREE SatelliteGuys Reader App!

 

[KAB]

They are ok because they believe that piracy has actually increased their subscribers and as posted has actually increased their ratings

Posted Via The FREE SatelliteGuys Reader App!

Yeh, just like king3pj said before you.

 

[MikeD-C05]

You can always buy individual episodes of HBO series tv on Amazon tv. I think they sell for like $1.99 a episode. That is way cheaper than paying $19.00 a month for full subscription. IF I can't get HBO in June at a low price deal, I will be just paying that low price per show for True Blood till the show is over. After that I don't plan on subscribing to any other HBO series. At $10.00 I would be a full time subscriber ,but not at $14.00 and definitely not at $19.00 a month. Just ridiculous pricing.

 

[king3pj]

You can always buy individual episodes of HBO series tv on Amazon tv. I think they sell for like $1.99 a episode. That is way cheaper than paying $19.00 a month for full subscription. IF I can't get HBO in June at a low price deal, I will be just paying that low price per show for True Blood till the show is over. After that I don't plan on subscribing to any other HBO series. At $10.00 I would be a full time subscriber ,but not at $14.00 and definitely not at $19.00 a month. Just ridiculous pricing.

That works for pretty much everything except for HBO. I canceled pay TV and have been buying my shows by the season on the Apple TV or Amazon.

This is my experience so far. All the regular cable channels seem to have their episodes available for purchase on iTunes and Amazon by the time I wake up the day after they air. The premium channels like HBO, Showtime, and Starz keep their episodes off those services until the DVDs come out right before the next season starts.

The $30 I paid my parents for 3 months of discounted HBO is a couple bucks less than buying the season on my Apple TV would have been, plus I don't have to wait until next year to watch the current season. On top of that I can watch all the other HBO shows with HBO Go during my 3 months. Even if you don't get quite the same discount on HBO that I did I think it's still worth it to pay a few bucks more and subscribe for a couple months.

 

[Mojo Jojo]

I tried several times to get a discount on HBO yesterday, including via chat and phone. The only deal they would offer me was the HBO/Max one. Caring nothing for what is on Max, I finally gave up and ordered HBO for $19. We will only keep it while GOT is on, and we will watch the past year's series via HBOGO, so it is still a good deal IMHO, but I don't understand why Dish wouldn't make me a better offer. I do autopay and have the AT200. It isn't like I am making them no money. Oh well, this just is just more ammunition for when I am out of contract and want to "cut the cord."

Instead of cutting the cord, you could also drop your base programming to a lower one like Welcome Pack, Smart Pack, Dish America, America's Top 120, Dish Latino Basico/Clasico/Plus/Dos, etc. and still sub to HBO. However, I would compare packages for what you really want in terms of channels and price.

 

[Mochuf]

I think that all of the promos that are currently available for HBO are a big reason their numbers are holding steady. Comcast is basically giving it away with most of their internet packages while Dish and DirecTV always will discount it for a subscriber that calls in. It's getting to be pretty foolish to pay full price for HBO anymore.

 

[bluegrassboy75]

When I checked My Offers online...this wasn't listed.

 

[mike123abc]

You can always buy individual episodes of HBO series tv on Amazon tv. I think they sell for like $1.99 a episode. That is way cheaper than paying $19.00 a month for full subscription. IF I can't get HBO in June at a low price deal, I will be just paying that low price per show for True Blood till the show is over. After that I don't plan on subscribing to any other HBO series. At $10.00 I would be a full time subscriber ,but not at $14.00 and definitely not at $19.00 a month. Just ridiculous pricing.

iTunes and Amazon are a year behind.