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HBO to Finally Launch Stand Alone Streaming HBO Service in 2015

It may have taken several years of prodding, but HBO is finally planning to offer a standalone version of their broadband video streaming service HBO Go -- one that doesn't require a traditional cable subscription. Speaking during Time Warner's investor presentationj, HBO CEO Richard Plepler stated that the service would be arriving sometime in 2015, but didn't specify precisely what the new service would look like or how much it would cost.

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“It is time to remove all barriers to those who want HBO,” stated Plepler.

“So, in 2015, we will launch a stand-alone, over-the-top, HBO service in the United States. We will work with our current partners. And, we will explore models with new partners. All in, there are 80 million homes that do not have HBO and we will use all means at our disposal to go after them."

In a press release sent to media, HBO stated that the company now sees great potential in marketing a standalone streaming service to the nation's 10 million broadband-only households. That's a number that's only expected to grow as the cord cutting phenomenon gains momentum in the face of unsustainable traditional cable TV price hikes.

Historically HBO and Time Warner executives have stated it doesn't make economic sense to offer a standalone version of HBO GO as it could damage their cozy, subsidized relationship with traditional cable operators. While the companies stalled, Netflix increased in power as a direct HBO competitor, though dismissive rhetoric in recent months had softened as HBO executives began to notice a shift in their projections.

"The broadband opportunity is getting quite a bit bigger, and the ability of the plant to deliver something robust is getting stronger; and so the question you’re asking is becoming more viable, more interesting," Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes stated in September when asked about the possibility.
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bigballer
join:2014-09-25

1 recommendation

bigballer

Member

ads? users? price?

How many ads?

How many users can use it

Most importantly, what kind of price?

Is it going to be hulu style where if you have HBO, you'll get more and better programming?

If it's too much and if it sucks like Hulu, I'll stick to piratebay.

I'm waiting for the day Google movies will turn like Google music. Where i can upload my videos to the cloud and stream it on my chromecast and wherever the heck I want.

Majestik
World Traveler
Premium Member
join:2001-05-11
Tulsa, OK

Majestik

Premium Member

Re: ads? users? price?

For me cutting the cord is more than just "Broadband only". It's viewing when and where I prefer,very few or no commercials,free wifi,ala carte,books,streaming radio,podcasts,outdoor activities,gym,work,travel,etc., all while only paying $15/mo.
Not interested. Never paid for HBO service. Haven't watched HBO since around 1980 I think.
dfxmatt
join:2007-08-21
Crystal Lake, IL

dfxmatt to bigballer

Member

to bigballer
I agree. How this server is presented is going to define whether or not it's worth investing into. I fully expect HBO to completely screw this up at first until they work out details.

NYDude25
join:2007-08-23
Massapequa, NY

NYDude25

Member

Re: ads? users? price?

If they just leave the service the way it works now and charge the same as they charge for the HBO channel, it would be a big hit.
dfxmatt
join:2007-08-21
Crystal Lake, IL

dfxmatt

Member

Re: ads? users? price?

I have no idea how it works right now, because I don't pay for TV service. Cord is cut. How does it work right now? Comparable to hulu, netflix, plex?

NYDude25
join:2007-08-23
Massapequa, NY

NYDude25

Member

Re: ads? users? price?

Well, I don't have Hulu, but I have Netflix, and it's similar to that. In HBOGo, it lists the movies and series and stuff that are available, and you just sort through the seasons of show to each episode and play it. No ads, and pretty much everything on HBO that month as well as most of their back catalog of series is available. I use my PS3 to watch it, but also a PC or I think Roku can view it too.
dfxmatt
join:2007-08-21
Crystal Lake, IL

dfxmatt

Member

Re: ads? users? price?

That's pretty good, actually. Do they remove content or not really? Like, if someone wanted to watch all of Sopranos would it still be there at this point?

I could see this being pretty compelling if it works as you say, then.

NYDude25
join:2007-08-23
Massapequa, NY

NYDude25

Member

Re: ads? users? price?

No, it always stays on there because they own that and made it. Some movies they make always stay on there too and things like Band of Brothers. But each month, the movies come and go, just like on the HBO channel, I guess because they don't own them. I don't know if that may change because they'd have to buy the internet rights instead of the TV rights. But currently, all of their own stuff is always available...Sopranos, GOT, Six Feet Under, Sex and the City, Boardwalk Empire, etc.
Kuro
join:2014-10-01

Kuro to NYDude25

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to NYDude25
Do they remove or add large amounts of content every 6 months?

NYDude25
join:2007-08-23
Massapequa, NY

NYDude25

Member

Re: ads? users? price?

Not every six months that I noticed. Each month the movies change, the way the HBO channel has different movies each month.
chrisgo1
join:2005-03-16
Orlando, FL

chrisgo1

Member

Re: ads? users? price?

To add HBO go largely mirrors what is on demand/current for HBO that month/week with their own content always available.
chrisgo1

chrisgo1 to NYDude25

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to NYDude25
Agreed that would be the smartest move. Even a dollar or two more a month so they can be friendly to their biggest customers (cable providers) would be in order. There will always be thieves, but if they can remove some barriers to selling their product they will at least give choices to those who may have none today (international customers) or provide an easier choice for those in the US who steal their content today to lower their theft rates probably dramatically to mitigate that loss. More legal choices would surely make less illegal acquisitions and more revenue for them.
dudeman456
join:2005-04-29
New York, NY

dudeman456 to bigballer

Member

to bigballer
@bigballer Plex and perhaps others let you upload video files to different place like Google Drive, and stream it from anywhere. There are also services that stream the videos you place on their service.
dfxmatt
join:2007-08-21
Crystal Lake, IL

dfxmatt

Member

Re: ads? users? price?

Wait, what? Why would you upload to google drive and then stream from that to plex? Plex will stream to anything by itself to anywhere. You're duplicating efforts if you're putting something into google drive to stream elsewhere.
bigballer
join:2014-09-25

bigballer to dudeman456

Member

to dudeman456
I know about Plex, I would prefer a more native Google app.

I love google play music and their cloud, I would like the same approach with Google movies.... you know for home videos and stuff

AnonDude
@97.95.152.x

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Anon

to bigballer
does current HBO have ads? No.

Packeteers
Premium Member
join:2005-06-18
Forest Hills, NY
Asus RT-AC3100
(Software) Asuswrt-Merlin

2 edits

Packeteers

Premium Member

Re: ads? users? price?

> We will work with our current partners. And, we will explore models with new partners.

sounds like ISP's and Streaming box providers like Roku will be the ones reselling this unbound HBOGo service to their existing customer base,
so that could be where the ads come from as a way for such resellers to subsidize their costs to HBO, and even lower them to end users.

»www.businessweek.com/art ··· #r=lr-sr

Imagine if Roku sold HBOGo cheaper than your ISP in a PC Browser - that could be a marketing bonus for Roku trying to sell other channels.

Titus
Mr Gradenko
join:2004-06-26

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How is there enough content (unseen / new) to offer it up for what I'm guessing will be at least $15-$20 a month? Having had Netflix for umpteen years - disk and streaming - I'm only behind the newest season of each show on disk or the season behind that. You could burn through a season of each show easily per week without bingeing.
ctggzg
Premium Member
join:2005-02-11
USA

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Many people will try to justify "sticking to piratebay" no matter what.

NYDude25
join:2007-08-23
Massapequa, NY

NYDude25

Member

Good for them

Wonder how much they will charge each month.

davidc502
join:2002-03-06
Mount Juliet, TN

davidc502

Member

It's about time

Finally a content provider that is traditionally "cable" is breaking the chains, and is looking at a stand alone service.

It Seems HBO sees the writing on the wall, and wants to get a jump on virgin ground.

I applaud the move, providing the service doesn't run as much or more than Netflix/Hulu. My price-point for HBO-Go would be no more than 5 bucks a month.

David
Kuro
join:2014-10-01

Kuro

Member

Re: It's about time

I'd be more generous on the price and give it $10 a month. What I am worried about is if there will be different tiers of content/timing between the with cable and without groups.

dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ

dvd536

Premium Member

Re: It's about time

it'll be what it is on cable. $15-20 / mo
dont forget GO will chew on your data caps!
-
now if it were MAX.HBO/go i think i could cut the cord[well at least from jan to july]
need my cable when NFL season is live!

AnonDude
@97.95.152.x

AnonDude

Anon

Re: It's about time

said by dvd536:

it'll be what it is on cable. $15-20 / mo
dont forget GO will chew on your data caps!

Any more than it does now? Because that's how I watch most of my HBO content. I very rarely watch the actual channel. By the way curently HBO Go uses about 1.5 GB per hour max.
elefante72
join:2010-12-03
East Amherst, NY

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to Kuro
No way its going to be priced less than the channel price, so that means $15-$20.

They MAY have a lower priced option, but for say older content (3 years) like provided on Amazon prime, but no way you are getting current shows for pricing less than a cable provider..

Cats_Z
@71.178.3.x

Cats_Z

Anon

Re: It's about time

Based on their statement, I think this will only be available from your ISP in an HBO+Internet bundle. This will prevent people who want HBO on the cheap along side their pay-TV package from doing so, and will mask the "true" price of either service.

JasonOD
@76.16.77.x

JasonOD to elefante72

Anon

to elefante72
It needs to be MORE $$$ (think ~$30) or the major cableco's will flip HBO the bird and tell them to have a nice life. They'll have no incentive to continue a relationship where they're getting screwed over.

HBOgoing
@73.160.110.x

-1 recommendation

HBOgoing

Anon

If pricing and chosen content reasonable, will cause cable to lower $ on HBO

If the pricing and the chosen content of standalone streaming is reasonable, this could cause cable to lower price on HBO channel pkg on their systems.
WhatNow
Premium Member
join:2009-05-06
Charlotte, NC

WhatNow

Premium Member

Beginning of the end

This may be the beginning of the end of traditional cable. If more companies on the free side start offering their packages like this it will not be long before traditional cable moves to a la carte.
Kuro
join:2014-10-01

Kuro

Member

Cost, Tiers and the Future

If they sell this as $10 a month to get HBOGo as it is now is something I would buy. If they add tiers that locks out content, release windows or ads based on if you are streaming alone or going through a cable sub has me really worried. Also wonder if this will effect studios licensing things to HBO for broadcast/streaming.

dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ

dvd536

Premium Member

Re: Cost, Tiers and the Future

it will NEVER be $10/mo. its higher than that everywhere.
ADS, i would never buy a hbo that was chewing at my caps with ads[why i dont have hulu+]
netflix is too bitstarved to even be an option.

••••••
silbaco
Premium Member
join:2009-08-03
USA

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I don't think they would have any more ads than what they have on their current offerings.

I could see them requiring minimum term commitments to prevent people from just subscribing 1 month and watching an entire season of their favorite show.

AnonDude
@97.95.152.x

AnonDude to Kuro

Anon

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it wil most likely be around $15 a month which is still a deal.
AVonGauss
Premium Member
join:2007-11-01
Boynton Beach, FL

AVonGauss

Premium Member

Possible Typo?

It may have taken several years of prodding

Typo?

It has taken nearly a decade of prodding

:-)

AnonDude
@97.95.152.x

AnonDude

Anon

Re: Possible Typo?

said by AVonGauss:

It may have taken several years of prodding

Typo?

It has taken nearly a decade of prodding

:-)

On February 18, 2010, HBO launched HBO GO,

That would be 4 1/2 years.
AVonGauss
Premium Member
join:2007-11-01
Boynton Beach, FL

AVonGauss

Premium Member

Re: Possible Typo?

Oh, we've been asking for a lot longer than HBO Go has been around...

dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ

dvd536

Premium Member

Cozy relationship

kick cable out of the bed. course HBO needs to beef up their bandwidth before they go standalone. how many hbo/go FAILS have i read about on here.

••••

crazyk4952
Premium Member
join:2002-02-04
united state

crazyk4952

Premium Member

price?

I guess it will be priced $14.99 - $19.99.

dscl
join:2001-07-15
Suwanee, GA

1 recommendation

dscl

Member

Pay now or pay later

Only problem I see is if a lot of people cut off their TV service, the cable companies will just raise broadband prices to make up the lost of people cutting TV.

At the end of the day they will not let shareholders down.

dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ

dvd536

Premium Member

Re: Pay now or pay later

they're already doing that and caps too to ensure to cord cutters its a wash.
silbaco
Premium Member
join:2009-08-03
USA

silbaco

Premium Member

Uptake

If I had to take a guess, it will be that the uptake will be very low. Other than Netflix and Amazon Prime (which has other perks) the uptake of paid streaming services has been very low. That includes Hulu Plus, Crunchyroll, paid Youtube channels, and even Aereo had few customers.

At a price point of likely $15-20, most people will just continue to pirate or buy the DVD/Blu-ray.

•••
Os
join:2011-01-26
US

Os

Member

Laughable

People should not be celebrating. Bills are only going to get worse.

You're not going to pay Netflix $8, HBO Go $15, and get everything on TV. People are foolish to believe that.

All this movement will do is ensure broadband meters, and that you pay multiple sources a fee to get the same content you got in one place before.

Everyone will pay more and get less. And this system will have even less regulation than the already limited regulation the system has.

••••••••
DigitalManny
join:2014-01-08
Glendale, CA

DigitalManny

Member

So if I get HBO through cable

Does this mean I have to pay extra for this? Stupid move really it should be included with my subscription.
Kuro
join:2014-10-01

Kuro

Member

Re: So if I get HBO through cable

It's already included with your subscription. The reason this is news is that they are making it so you don't have to have cable to get it.
rradina
join:2000-08-08
Chesterfield, MO

rradina

Member

Plant Getting Stronger

The broadband opportunity is getting quite a bit bigger, and the ability of the plant to deliver something robust is getting stronger;
I'd argue that the plant has been capable for a number of years (especially FTTH and well-managed FTTN) if the distributor directly connects to each ISP or the ISP installs content distribution equipment in their data center.

I have subscribed to HSI with my local cable system since August 2000 (when I joined DSL Reports). Since 2005ish, there have been no peak period performance issues. Over the years they have increased the basic package speed from 512Kbps to 100Mbps. There are still no peak period performance issues.

TOPDAWG
Premium Member
join:2005-04-27
Calgary, AB

1 recommendation

TOPDAWG

Premium Member

Internet prices will go up.

If cable company's start to lose money cause of things like HBO GO all they will do is lower caps and rise the prices internet to make up for the loses. they will get their money and you'll be forced to pay it.

jmn1207
Premium Member
join:2000-07-19
Sterling, VA

jmn1207

Premium Member

Comcast + Roku

Well, if I can get HBO service on my Roku 3 as a stand alone channel, even if it cost $50/month, I'd be tempted to drop a cheaper version of HBO with Comcast just on principle.

»www.facebook.com/pages/C ··· 81678759

Flyonthewall
@206.248.154.x

Flyonthewall

Anon

Canada?

Will it be available in Canada, or did they sign some kind of long term agreement that needs to run its course? I'd be willing to stream this through Netflix no problems, but if it's US only, I can guarantee people will be trying to access it from abroad, which will do nothing to stem piracy.
mike10
join:2004-03-02

mike10

Member

Re: Canada?

dpubt it this happenned a few weeks ago »www.digitalhome.ca/forum ··· ight=hbo

Flyonthewall
@206.248.154.x

Flyonthewall

Anon

Re: Canada?

Figures Bell would be involved. They're like Hyenas going after anything that might threaten them. Oh well, guess I've never be watching HBO live again, sure as heck not going to pay Bell for that.
biochemistry
Premium Member
join:2003-05-09
92361

biochemistry

Premium Member

No point

If this is priced like the cable version then there is no point. $9 gets you original content and a much larger movie selection on Netflix. If you want Game of Thrones, buy the BluRay.

void_of_ligh
@69.174.58.x

void_of_ligh

Anon

Re: No point

They don't release the bluray until a year after the series airs. When I had satellite, I subscribed to HBO for the 2-3 months GOT was on. I would gladly pay the 15 a month for this during the 2-3 months GOT airs. Offering it like Amazon prime does for $30 a season would be even better.

rollinraver
join:2002-04-27
Buffalo, NY

rollinraver

Member

Let's hope...

they don't suffer with bandwidth issues a la early Netflix... Aka bad peering! Hopefully they get on the ball with that and go for direct connects!

Vztechjoe
@173.3.226.x

Vztechjoe

Anon

Caps

It started with you dopey cord cutters and now HBOs decision to offer standalone service will really get the ball rolling to a future in which ALL broadband providers will instill DATA CAPS and your Netflix And HBO GO will lose its value and we all suffer from a much worse internet experience.
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