HBO 'seriously considering' offering HBO Go as a direct-to-consumer option

Himanshu Arora

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Cord-cutters, rejoice! Time Warner Cable has dropped some hints that in the future it could shift from selling HBO Go, the streaming service that gives access to HBO's vast catalog of movies as well as new and old shows, through cable and satellite companies to a direct-to-consumer model.

"[It] is becoming more viable, more interesting", said TWC CEO Jeff Bewkes during a talk at a Goldman Sachs conference this week. “We’re seriously considering what is the best way to deal with online distribution".

That's clearly a change in stance, given that last year, at the same conference, Bewkes said the company's primary focus was to give HBO an inroad into the 70 million households that subscribe to pay TV but not HBO, not just the 5 million to 6 million that don’t have a pay TV service. 

The direct-to-consumer model isn't new for HBO, as it's already offering its programming via subscription in Nordic countries including Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland. Add to that the fact that rival Netflix has more paid US subscribers than HBO, the idea of selling standalone subscriptions to HBO Go would make a lot of sense.

In addition, on the question whether there are plans to spin off HBO into a separate company, Bewkes said he has no such intentions, adding that the company is instead focused on having its three core business units (HBO, Turner Broadcasting, and Warner Bros.) work together.

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Wouldn't it make it more viable and better to team up with netflix which means more subscribers ( a butt ton more) which also equals less saturation and more consumers can join netflix which will overall improve the service and beat out other competitors.

If they decided to team up with netflix I for one would get a netflix sub and I know plenty of people who would also! Its all about pleasing the customers but at the same time trying to rake in as much cash as possible and netflix already has a massive margin of the market so why not make that margin miles bigger!!!
 
Well, I'm paying Netflix, and won't pay for any other service. Besides Game of Thrones I wouldn't find more reasons to make a switch.
 
Wouldn't it make it more viable and better to team up with netflix which means more subscribers ( a butt ton more) which also equals less saturation and more consumers can join netflix which will overall improve the service and beat out other competitors.

If they decided to team up with netflix I for one would get a netflix sub and I know plenty of people who would also! Its all about pleasing the customers but at the same time trying to rake in as much cash as possible and netflix already has a massive margin of the market so why not make that margin miles bigger!!!

You don't know how many customers currently have both services, so you can't really gauge benefits of a deal between the two.

From a business standpoint (TWC - owner of HBO), a team-up with netflix will never happened at least not at the price that most consumers are willing to pay for HBO's entire content library. Adding HBO to netflix will triple the prices of netflix "premium" services which includes HBO. You are in essence subbing the $40 basic cable bundle for the $10 netflix bundle. Profit sharing aside, who knows how much netflix+HBO would cost or even if netflix would consider it.

I see HBO a la carte as an inevitable transition if HBO is smart and gets ahead of the cord cutting trend. How will they do it? Likely by themselves as this is where it makes the most sense and there wouldn't be a need of any 3rd party...
 
As a UK resident who was overwhelmingly underwhelmed by Sky's NowTV online streaming service I'd welcome this as an option. NowTV sometimes had to wait 2 days after GoT aired to watch it on the streaming service, quality was poor, live would sometimes drop you mid-episode and wouldn't allow a reconnect (or would but only after about 15 minutes back to the live stream thus having missed 15 minutes).

Netflix would be another option, I was always impressed with their service.
 
Wouldn't it make it more viable and better to team up with netflix which means more subscribers ( a butt ton more) which also equals less saturation and more consumers can join netflix which will overall improve the service and beat out other competitors.

If they decided to team up with netflix I for one would get a netflix sub and I know plenty of people who would also! Its all about pleasing the customers but at the same time trying to rake in as much cash as possible and netflix already has a massive margin of the market so why not make that margin miles bigger!!!

You don't know how many customers currently have both services, so you can't really gauge benefits of a deal between the two.

From a business standpoint (TWC - owner of HBO), a team-up with netflix will never happened at least not at the price that most consumers are willing to pay for HBO's entire content library. Adding HBO to netflix will triple the prices of netflix "premium" services which includes HBO. You are in essence subbing the $40 basic cable bundle for the $10 netflix bundle. Profit sharing aside, who knows how much netflix+HBO would cost or even if netflix would consider it.

I see HBO a la carte as an inevitable transition if HBO is smart and gets ahead of the cord cutting trend. How will they do it? Likely by themselves as this is where it makes the most sense and there wouldn't be a need of any 3rd party...

Ye your right, customers will remove the netflix sub if HBO comes out which is a smart idea.

Come on dude cable bundles are already pathetically expensive whats the inflation at right now 85% for the bundle?

I can see a HBO+Netflix deal going perfectly SPECIALLY from a business stand point, plus if netflix+HBO get married users without HBO or Netflix will find it FAR more lucrative to sign up which equals what? revenue.. yep you got it right!
 
Come on dude cable bundles are already pathetically expensive whats the inflation at right now 85% for the bundle?
Bundles are high because you are paying for channels you never watch.

Cable should be an open choice of all channels. And then charges for only the channels that are being watched. Or in this case charged for on-demand movie selections being streamed.
 
Bundles are high because you are paying for channels you never watch.

Cable should be an open choice of all channels. And then charges for only the channels that are being watched. Or in this case charged for on-demand movie selections being streamed.

Good thing I have never and never will pay for channels or TV... or a TV license ;)
 
HBO was less than $9 bucks many years ago. Today they're so greedy and over charging customers almost $20 for the same type of service. I not interested in HBO any more. Netflix and Free OTA (over-the-air now 74 channels) HD Dolby 5.1 Digital Surround Plus is enough.
 
Come on dude cable bundles are already pathetically expensive whats the inflation at right now 85% for the bundle?
Bundles are high because you are paying for channels you never watch.

Cable should be an open choice of all channels. And then charges for only the channels that are being watched. Or in this case charged for on-demand movie selections being streamed.
Come on dude cable bundles are already pathetically expensive whats the inflation at right now 85% for the bundle?
Bundles are high because you are paying for channels you never watch.

Cable should be an open choice of all channels. And then charges for only the channels that are being watched. Or in this case charged for on-demand movie selections being streamed.

Tell that to CEO of Comcast. They're in it for high profit margins. CATV carries local service charge fees also. Tack onto your high price bundle. I am glad I had cut the cord from CATV back in 2012. I only pay for Internet 50-d/10-u at $44 now savings from prior bundles was $158 a month. For what phone I never use and only watch TV 10% if any.
 
This is all so complicated. Until then, there are much easier options because some people are just ridiculous.
 
We already has that in the Nordic countries where it is called HBO Nordic, a pure Internet based solution. I have a combination of HBO Nordic + Netflix.
 
Oh, and the cost of Netflix and HBO Nordic is the same here in Denmark
 
Well I can't speak for other countries that offer HBO, at one time they were just showing movies and stand-up comedic's. Today it's Sports, Concerts, Stand-up Comedic's, Series, Specials and Movies. So you have to pay for the increased content here in USA. I rather watch what I want to watch like how Netflix gives you the freedom at under $10 here in USA plus tax now.
 
Bundles are high because you are paying for channels you never watch....[ ]...
Perhaps so. But, Comcast is going to try and avoid losing money, even if they were to be forced to unbundle by our federal government.

If you call, (arbitrarily), 200 channels @ $100.00 a month, "fifty cents a channel", you can bet that the most popular channels would likely be $5.00 a month, and the "knitting channel", 20 cents a month.

This is the same difference in price structure you experience when you walk into a restaurant and order, "the special of the day", as opposed to ordering "a la cart".

I think it a trifle naive to suppose providers of hit content wouldn't bill the cable company commensurate to the projected viewing audience, and those costs would be passed along to the consumer.

This argument is absolutely a, "be careful what you wish for, you just might get it", slippery slope.

Back in the day, they studied the cost of buying automobiles entirely through the replacement parts. As it turned out, the cost of buying the parts to construct the car, was more than 3 times the cost of buying the entire car, assembled", right off the showroom floor!

I agree that you'll most likely have a lower cable bill unbundled. But, if you're thinking since you get 200 channels for $100.00 a month, that you will in turn get 20 channels, of your choosing, for $10.00 a month, you're in for a rude awakening.
 
I cut the cord about a year ago. I realized that I was paying for something that I didn't use.

The only thing I miss is sports. Streamtorrent solved that though. Netflix and Hulu Plus keep the ole lade from wanting to strangle me. I'm currently saving about 70 bucks a month not paying for television programming.

The sooner television dies the better.
 
The only thing I miss is sports. Streamtorrent solved that though. Netflix and Hulu Plus keep the ole lade from wanting to strangle me. I'm currently saving about 70 bucks a month not paying for television programming.

The sooner television dies the better.
Oddly, all I have to do is hang a pair of rabbit ears on the back of any TV, and lo and behold, I get local pro sports teams in glorious 1080i or 720p.

Since this service is free over the air, I'm a bit puzzled as to why you want TV to die. I find it a bit odd that you would have internet but no TV antenna.
 
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