HBO finally going standalone, will no longer require cable subscription

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 15 Oct 2014 10:11 User comments (7)

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.

Tags: streaming Time Warner HBO Go HBO

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7 user comments

116.10.2014 10:23

bhetrick

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AfterDawn Addict

Finally.

When are more of these companies going to get away from their 30 year old "you have to pay for 200 channels even though you only want to watch 5 of them" mentality.

216.10.2014 16:19

dEwMe

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Senior Member

Still the $8 a month or whatever all these streaming services cost really can add up.

316.10.2014 16:23

SProdigy

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Originally posted by bhetrick:
Finally.

When are more of these companies going to get away from their 30 year old "you have to pay for 200 channels even though you only want to watch 5 of them" mentality.

The only problem I see is IF I had to pay more than getting want I want a la carte. I pay $15 a month for HBO now. If the streaming service is $10, it would be a great value.

A channel like ESPN would greatly profit from this model versus the $5 they make from a service like DirecTV. But say I wanted access to X amount of channels at $10 each, I'd get nowhere near the value of buying a TV package through DirecTV. It's a Catch-22.

418.10.2014 01:36

pmshah

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We are so fortunate. Here in India we can get very basic subscription to cable TV service for just around $ 2/- per month. We can then add different combos as per our choice for between $ 1/- and 2/- each per month. Of course we don't have gazillion channels like in the US but for around $ 10/= per month I can get practically all - around 500 - channels.

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 18 Oct 2014 @ 1:43

520.10.2014 02:02

oneguy

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I agree with bhetrick. I kinda saw this coming awhile ago when the ps3 got the crackle and crunchyroll app. I think all these networks should just release apps. Because I recently cancelled my satellite subscription because I found myself using the youtube app on my ps3 for talkshows and torrents for tv specials like the mtv vma's. There's no need anymore to pay for "packages" for garbage they kick in just to up the channel count.

620.10.2014 06:19

Jemborg

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Originally posted by pmshah:
We are so fortunate. Here in India we can get very basic subscription to cable TV service for just around $ 2/- per month. We can then add different combos as per our choice for between $ 1/- and 2/- each per month. Of course we don't have gazillion channels like in the US but for around $ 10/= per month I can get practically all - around 500 - channels.

Would that include HBO (e.g. Game of Thrones)?

721.10.2014 18:28

megadunderhead

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Senior Member

honestly HBO and other companies are learning to stop feeding comcast and there stupid product rigging of services

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HBO finally going standalone, will no longer require cable subscription

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