Andre Yoskowitz
15 Oct 2014 22:11
It's finally happened.
Time Warner, parent company of HBO, has confirmed that the popular movie and show channel will offered as a standalone web-only streaming service starting next year, allowing cable cutters to get access without needing a cable/satellite TV subscription.
HBO CEO Richard Plepler said the company is preparing to launch a "standalone, over the top" version of HBO in 2015, but left consumers with little other details.
Reads the press statement: "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."
Currently, HBO Go allows mobile, set-top and computers users to stream the popular original content and movies anywhere but it also requires them to have an HBO channel subscription. Having a premium channel subscription also means having a monthly TV package, which is never cheap.
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings commented on the news, saying that HBO Go going standalone was "inevitable" and will not affect the streaming service's booming content library.