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HBO Go Nordic Standalone Offer Beaten by Netflix

While HBO still refuses to offer their HBO Go streaming service unless you sign up for traditional cable, you might recall there was an exception made last year wherein Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark were the first anywhere to see HBO Go standalone. If you were hoping the standalone offer to be so successful it prompted HBO to extend the option elsewhere, you may be waiting a while.

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Janko Roettgers at GigaOM points out that where HBO standalone is available, it's getting handily beaten by Netflix, in large part of course because all that's available is HBO content:
quote:
(A recent MMS consumer survey) found that in Sweden, only 68,000 people have access to HBO Nordic, which makes it one of the least popular paid video services (hat tip to Broadband TV News). According to the survey, only 17,000 people access HBO Nordic every day. Netflix, on the other hand, is available to 864,000 Swedes, and 308,000 use it every day, both of which makes it the most popular paid video service in Sweden.
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has always argued that they're competing with HBO, not cable. "The goal," Hastings said back in January, "is to become HBO faster than HBO can become us." HBO, protected from the winds of competition courtesy of their cozy cable and broadcast relationships, still hasn't quite realized the game is afoot, or that it may help to have a head start on their inevitable evolution toward being a standalone Internet video company.
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bookertdub
join:2012-10-08
San Diego, CA

bookertdub

Member

Changing DNS Settings?

I'll have to see if changing my DNS server to one of those countries would enable me to have the option of getting HBO Go Nordic.

TechyDad
Premium Member
join:2001-07-13
USA

TechyDad

Premium Member

Re: Changing DNS Settings?

My guess is that you'd still have to pay for the subscription and if they see that the payment is coming from America for an account "in" Sweden, they might flag that as suspicious.
silbaco
Premium Member
join:2009-08-03
USA

silbaco to bookertdub

Premium Member

to bookertdub
Your IP address would still be US-based.

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

jmn1207

Premium Member

Re: Changing DNS Settings?

said by silbaco:

Your IP address would still be US-based.


There are affordable DNS services available that have multiple IP addresses with good speeds outside the US.

»hidemyass.com/vpn/servers/
eco
Premium Member
join:2001-11-28
Wilmington, DE

eco

Premium Member

Re: Changing DNS Settings?

You're thinking of VPN, not DNS. It says it right there in your link. They are two different things.

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

jmn1207

Premium Member

Re: Changing DNS Settings?

Yes, my bad, I was thinking VPN but was reading DNS in the comments.

Packeteers
Premium Member
join:2005-06-18
Forest Hills, NY

Packeteers to bookertdub

Premium Member

to bookertdub
even if you changed your IP using a VPN (DNS is wrong term)
your method of payment address would still have to be Nordic.

Netflix swed
@bredbandsbolaget.se

Netflix swed

Anon

Re: Changing DNS Settings?

Nope, I'm using a Visa card from a country south of Germany for my subscription on Netflix Sweden.
No problem at all...
Millenium
join:2013-10-30

Millenium

Member

Hope they do better

I'm a happy Netflix user, but I still hope stand alone HBO Go expands, improves, and thrives. Competition is good! Especially where that competition is commercial free, watch what you want, when you want.

I see they are close to the same price as Netflix. Another good sign. Wonder if they are as available in hardware, like Netflix? Netflix is right in my TV so I don't need anything else to use them. Perhaps that is a contributing factor with HBO Go's lower numbers? Do they allow more than one simultaneous stream?

dnoyeB
Ferrous Phallus
join:2000-10-09
Southfield, MI

dnoyeB

Member

Take a lesson from the telcos

What the cablecos did to the telcos Netflix will do to HBO. It should be obvious. By the time they wake up it will be way too late.
elray
join:2000-12-16
Santa Monica, CA

elray

Member

If Netflix is competing with HBO...

Why don't they offer the same titles?
Crookshanks
join:2008-02-04
Binghamton, NY

Crookshanks

Member

Uhhhh, duh!

quote:
in large part of course because all that's available is HBO content:
Stupid HBO, not carrying other channel's shows....

You can mock their corporate mindset all you want, but they do produce a quality product. I'd consider jumping on if the pricing was right. I enjoyed a TON of HBO original series via Netflix DVDs back in the day, it'd be awesome to stream them at affordable rates.

Rome
The Wire (arguably the best television show ever, IMHO)
The Sopranos
Band of Brothers
The Pacific
Six Feet Under
From the Earth to the Moon

That's off the top of my head. I'm probably missing one or two. No matter. They'll have a streaming product in the States sooner or later, it's inevitable.
eco
Premium Member
join:2001-11-28
Wilmington, DE

eco

Premium Member

Re: Uhhhh, duh!

Two you forgot to mention. Boardwalk Empire, whose pilot alone cost $18 million dollars, and Game of Thrones, which costs $60 million a season to make for just 10 episodes (and this cost has probably gone up as it's popularity has gone up, that number was for the first season). Don't get me wrong, I love House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, but until Netflix can pump out that kind of money to create worlds as immersive as just those two shows they still have a ways to go before they rival HBO in terms of must have content.

Treegravy
Premium Member
join:2011-04-21
Canada

Treegravy

Premium Member

Meh.

Public Library gets the series' on DVD. If you're willing to wait ~6-8 years you can watch them for free.
Take that, HBO.
ToiletMint
join:2009-12-07
Pine River, MN

ToiletMint

Member

HBO go .. bah

Not to mention the fact that the Authorized devices are diffrent for all ISP's... with Comcast I cant view HBO go on my Roku or my Samsung TV... WTF??

inteller
Sociopaths always win.
join:2003-12-08
Tulsa, OK

inteller

Member

because people can cancel at will

we should compare stats during months when big name shows are on (like GoT)

TheSwede
@80.227.45.x

TheSwede

Anon

Netflix vs HBO Nordic

this comment is based on extermely loose and non credible (but still widely reported- and picked up by all netflix fundamentalists!) I would not give more cred to this nonsense than to say that sure NEtflix have a higher sub base initially but is not growing anymore. HBO Nordic started from a lower base but is now growing very fast. Dont rush to your conclusions. Seem to remind me how the US rushed into a war or two. Or maybe I am a bit too cynical.
Or maybe Reed Hastings is trying to sell his company fast.
Ok hit back all you Netflix supporters. See what you have!