HBO to Join Streaming Market

HBO announced this week that it will start a stand-alone Internet streaming service in the United States in 2015. Unlike HBO’s previous offering, HBO GO, this new service will not require a subscription.

This announcement marks the beginning of HBO’s turn away from traditional television and into the field currently owned by services like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu. HBO hopes to capture a whole new generation of TV viewers who have canceled or never even had cable or satellite service.

Mentioning the 10 million homes in the US that pay for broadband connections but not traditional cable TV services, Richard Plepler, chief executive of HBO, called it “a large and growing opportunity that should no longer be left untapped. It is time to remove all barriers to those who want HBO.”

In fact, HBO’s move was predicted—or perhaps merely encouraged—as much as two years ago, when the website TakeMyMoneyHBO.com launched. More than 163,000 viewers in the first 48 hours, and many more afterward, determined that the average person would pay $12 a month for a non-subscription, online HBO option—cheaper than the $120 or more a month users typically pay for HBO-enhanced cable now.

Calling this a “new era,” HBO executives hope this streaming service, along with more original programming, buying into digital business opportunities, expanding international assets, and cutting costs across TV and film properties, will help parent company Time Warner stay relevant and active in today’s market. In fact, they expect to more than double their earnings in the coming years.

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