HBO Says It’s Going to Start Selling on the Web Next Year

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http://recode.net/2014/10/15/hbo-says-its-going-to-start-selling-on-the-web-next-year/


HBO says it’s finally ready: Sometime in the next year the pay TV service will be selling a Web-only offering.

HBO CEO Richard Plepler, speaking at an investor presentation hosted by HBO parent company Time Warner, said the company will start selling a digital version of its service that won’t require a pay TV subscription in 2015.

Plepler said the company will go “beyond the wall” and launch a “stand alone, over the top” version of HBO in the US next year, and would work with “current partners”, and may work with others as well. But we wouldn’t provide any other detail.

Here we go!
 
Plepler said the company will go “beyond the wall” and launch a “stand alone, over the top” version of HBO in the US next year, and would work with “current partners”, and may work with others as well. But we wouldn’t provide any other detail.

I interpret that to mean that they would put the HBO GO content out there, and give Comcast and TWC the option to sell it standalone, or more likely bundled with other provided content. Later they MIGHT allow netflix to sell it as well. However, you will not be able to buy HBO online directly from HBO under this announcement. I think this means that HBO GO might be an add on option to a TWC or Comcast internet-cable package
 
I wish all the the cable channels would just sell access to their apps for all those that don't have cable/ sat service.

Put them up on the Roku or Apple TV, charge say $1-3 dollars for each app a month ( depends on the channel, I have read that most cable/Sat. Services pay under a dollar for a channel per sub., the most being ESPN which I think is over $5) and push the idea to the cable channel that subscribers can't fast forward commercials anymore if they are watching it on the app, double income, ad buyers would love that no one can fast forward past their ads anymore.

With something like that, I would not even need a DVR anymore, I would gladly love a On Demand Service that would have commercials if I could save on no equipment costs.
 
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Clearly you don't understand that a la carte via the web would lead to a zombie apocalypse.

HBO on the web. It is a good thing all the cable companies also have a monopoly on the web, that way they won't lose any money on this. Poor cable companies!
 
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Stand-alone HBO plan might be epochal development in streaming
Oct 15 2014, 11:32 ET | By: Clark Schultz, SA News Editor

Netflix (NFLX -2.6%) slid a little lower after Time Warner announced HBO would become a stand-alone service sometime in 2015.
Though it isn't clear how much of HBO's programming will migrate over to the OTT product, the mention of the "international possibilities" of a streaming HBO is enough to catch the attention of Netflix watchers.
The development also has implications for Hulu (DIS, CMCSA, FOXA) and Amazon (AMZN -1%) which could end us as delivery partners or direct streaming rivals, according to Re/code.
Pay-TV operators (CHTR, CVC, DISH, DTV) are in a bit of a box by the plan and may choose to play hardball with HBO.

http://seekingalpha.com/news/203265...e-epochal-development-in-streaming#email_link
 
I wonder how they are going to price it? It cannot be lower than cable subscription because otherwise people would just switch from cable HBO to internet HBO. It is probably going to be like $15 to $20? That would be lot...about the same as getting both Netflix and Amazon Prime.
 
They;re going to need to make the price attractive if they want to convince people to sign up and switch.
I'm predicting 11.99$/year for the first 2 years before a price hike.
 
I figure the price will mirror what the cable offering costs. $15-20 a monthish.
 
I'm glad to see this. Have HboGo now & use it a fair amount. Never watch Hbo on my dish receiver, only the app on Roku.

Depending on which is cheaper will be the deciding factor for me.
 
They;re going to need to make the price attractive if they want to convince people to sign up and switch.
I'm predicting 11.99$/year for the first 2 years before a price hike.
Switch? This is designed to get people who don't have cable or sat.
 
Switch? This is designed to get people who don't have cable or sat.
I'm not actually sure who those people are. Most Americans use a cable or phone company for their ISP, even if they don't subscribe to the video service. That means that they (me) are already a customer because of the internet.

I am guessing that service will be bundled with the internet package. In some (most?) cases it will be offered in such a way that a full cable package looks attractive. I am guessing it will come in closer to $20-25/mo if offered by Time-Warner or Comcast. OTOH, it definitely could be used like it is these days as a promotional tool to steal customers from the other service and then the price would be low/free. Wait and see.
 
My guess on pricing:

HBO GO Only: $10
HBO channels on cable only: $14 (pretty much the same price as Showtime, Starz, Cinemax, etc...)
HBO and HBO GO bundle: $20 and obviously you would have to authenticate with your provider like you do now.
 
My guess on pricing:

HBO GO Only: $10
HBO channels on cable only: $14 (pretty much the same price as Showtime, Starz, Cinemax, etc...)
HBO and HBO GO bundle: $20 and obviously you would have to authenticate with your provider like you do now.

I can't see HBO pricing themselves too high. $9.99 sounds like the right price point for their streaming service, like what WWE did. Yes, their content is in high demand, but they don't have anywhere near the amount of content compared to a Netflix, Amazon or Hulu. So they can't price it too much higher for it to succeed.
 
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I could see them having pricing somewhere between 9.99 and 14.99. HBO has a lot of original content, but they also have a fair sized current movie library. They may not have all episodes of old shows, but given that TW owns them and TW is a big player in TV and movies they could probably add a lot of content.
 

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