“That is a large and growing opportunity that should no longer be left untapped. It is time to remove all barriers to those who want HBO.” – HBO Chairman and CEO Richard Plepler.
For somebody who hates downloading stuff illegally, I’ve missed out on a lot of amazing TV shows because of my lack of HBO. Sure, I could borrow HBO Go logins from friends (and have honestly attempted to), but I never went through with them. I’ve gotten caught up in the Game of Thrones hype, yet I’ve never actually seen an episode, I, too, want to see dragons and nudity and sword thrones! But alas, without a cable subscription (or even a normal TV subscription due to my recent move this summer) or money to throw down on the Game of Thrones DVD/Blu-ray sets, I was resigned to waiting until the series hit Netflix Instant.
However, in a move that has been rumored for a couple of weeks, HBO has finally come to their senses and announced their intentions to offer HBO to users who don’t have an HBO cable subscription. By their count, there are 80 million homes in the United States that don’t subscribe to HBO, and it’s this demographic that the company is hoping to attract with their announcement. No concrete details, such as pricing, limitations, etc. were revealed.
What should be noted is how this announcement will affect pre-existing relationships with service providers like Comcast and DirecTV. Surely, they won’t be too thrilled that HBO is taking their service into their own hands. However, I’m sure there are provisions in place that will continue to offer cable subscribers incentives (exclusive shows, cheaper rates?) that non-cable subscribers won’t have. Of course, this is all just speculation, but we’ll hear more information as the weeks follow.
[via HBO]