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SuperWISP
join:2007-04-17
Laramie, WY

1 edit

SuperWISP to News Hound

Member

to News Hound

Re: You really do have it ALL WRONG

The above is not correct. The fact is that you can't buy HBO directly; you must by it through a cable provider. So, you must be a customer of a cable company to view HBO's online content. And of course, once you have the cable TV subscription, it becomes much cheaper to buy the "bundle" which includes Internet due to cross-subsidies. So, consumers who want HBO's online content are heavily penalized if they do not both subscribe to Cable TV and buy their Internet service from the cable company.

Unless HBO allows users to sign up without a cable TV subscription, this constitutes an anticompetitive move against ISPs who are not cable companies.
News Hound
join:2010-02-18

News Hound

Member

UMMM - evidently you didn't read my post. As I said, HBO Go is an alternative way for for INDIVIDUALS who subscribe to HBO through a cable company to view the content they're already paying for. The point being that HBO is an a la carte cable service, not bundled with any other programming, so those who subscribe to it do so as a choice. ESPN 360 is paid for NOT by individuals who choose to subscribe to it, but rather by EVERY customer of participating ISPs, whether they use it or not. It should be immediately evident that these are TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT distribution models.
SuperWISP
join:2007-04-17
Laramie, WY

4 edits

SuperWISP

Member

said by News Hound:

INDIVIDUALS who subscribe to HBO through a cable company to view the content they're already paying for. The point being that HBO is an a la carte cable service, not bundled with any other programming,
Not true. It's bundled with the cable channels that you must buy as part of a cable subscription. As well as with the cable subscription itself. You cannot buy "HBO Go" by itself.

This forces you to buy a bundle. And the cable companies, in turn, use cross-subsidies between the services to penalize you, via their pricing, if you do not extend the bundle to include your Internet service.