The age of cable TV is coming to an end, folks. It was announced this October that HBO will finally be offering a standalone internet subscription for viewers beginning in 2015. Before, the only way to access HBO, Go, the network’s online streaming platform, was with a cable subscription. Those days are gone, my friends. If you’ve ever felt guilty about pirating Game of Thrones or another of the network’s big shows, the time has come for you to atone for your streaming sins. |
The plan is to reach the 80 million or so homes that currently do not subscribe to HBO, according to CEO Richard Plepler. Traditionally, a subscription to HBO is dependent upon your cable or satellite subscription; perhaps one of the reasons that the network didn’t make the move to broadband sooner was due to pressure from these big companies. Now such a subscription is no longer required; you’ll be able to purchase HBO from your internet provider, or directly from HBO. The details aren’t all hashed out yet, but the price range will likely be around $15-$20 a month, not too different from what one pays for the network subscription nowadays. The elevated price is probably designed not to tick off these large cable companies, who likely stand to lose some clientele now that a big name like HBO is joining the OTT family.
These days you’ll be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn’t have a Netflix subscription, or who doesn’t steal it from a friend (you know who you are). Alongside Netflix ($9/month), but not as cool, are Hulu (Hulu Plus is $7.99/month) and Amazon Prime ($99/year; about $8.25/month); these exclusive streaming services are referred to as OTT (over-the-top) television, because they are exclusive to broadband. I call them time-suckers, by the way. These are the kids that HBO Go now has to compete with; Netflix, mostly, which has a huge and constantly changing library of movies and TV from around the globe, plus some kick-ass original series (OITNB, anyone?). HBO Go users will have access not only to all HBO series and original films, but also to all movies that come fresh from the theatre screen since HBO has output deals with companies like Universal Studios and Warner Brothers. Out of any 25 blockbusters that premiere in a year, HBO has rights to about half; Netflix only to three. And according to Plepler, most HBO subscribers watch the network for the film selection anyway, so this will definitely be a plus. But, as stated before, Netflix has a rather varied selection of programming from around the world, so who do you think will win?
These days you’ll be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn’t have a Netflix subscription, or who doesn’t steal it from a friend (you know who you are). Alongside Netflix ($9/month), but not as cool, are Hulu (Hulu Plus is $7.99/month) and Amazon Prime ($99/year; about $8.25/month); these exclusive streaming services are referred to as OTT (over-the-top) television, because they are exclusive to broadband. I call them time-suckers, by the way. These are the kids that HBO Go now has to compete with; Netflix, mostly, which has a huge and constantly changing library of movies and TV from around the globe, plus some kick-ass original series (OITNB, anyone?). HBO Go users will have access not only to all HBO series and original films, but also to all movies that come fresh from the theatre screen since HBO has output deals with companies like Universal Studios and Warner Brothers. Out of any 25 blockbusters that premiere in a year, HBO has rights to about half; Netflix only to three. And according to Plepler, most HBO subscribers watch the network for the film selection anyway, so this will definitely be a plus. But, as stated before, Netflix has a rather varied selection of programming from around the world, so who do you think will win?
So why didn’t HBO make this move eons ago? It seems like a good deal for consumers all around; you get Game of Thrones, True Detective, access to HBO films old and new, Game of Thrones (it counts twice, OK? It just does). There were probably a number of reasons. Not only was there the aforementioned pressure from cable companies to keep the exclusive rights to HBO subscription, but there is the likelihood that the streaming platform just wasn’t ready until now. Users will know that HBO Go has its bugs (which hopefully have been fixed) so presumably the service was preparing for an influx of new users.
Whether other big networks like Showtime will follow in HBO’s footsteps is left to be seen, but there is no doubt that OTT’s are becoming serious players in the television industry, and other companies are going to have to adjust to the change still to come.
So will you be subscribing to HBO Go? “Borrowing” it from a friend? Where do you think the future of television is heading?
-Daniella Linares, Editor
Whether other big networks like Showtime will follow in HBO’s footsteps is left to be seen, but there is no doubt that OTT’s are becoming serious players in the television industry, and other companies are going to have to adjust to the change still to come.
So will you be subscribing to HBO Go? “Borrowing” it from a friend? Where do you think the future of television is heading?
-Daniella Linares, Editor