HBO finally addressed a massive outcry by cable and satellite cord cutters earlier today by confirming that an HBO stand-alone streaming service is in the works and will formally debut sometime in 2015.
The announcement was made by Richard Plepler, HBO chairman and CEO, at the Time Warner Inc. Investor Meeting. He started by citing there are over 10 million broadband-only homes and that number is growing, and HBO wants to finally take advantage of expanding its audience beyond the limitations of subscribers from cable and satellite packages.
“That [broadband-only homes] is a large and growing opportunity that should no longer be left untapped,” Plepler said. “It is time to remove all barriers to those who want HBO. 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.”
What Plepler failed to offer in his announcement are any details surrounding the new service. What content will it entail? You would have to assume access to HBO original programming, but will you be able to watch Game of Thrones live streaming or wait a period of time before it’s available?
Also, what will the service cost? Will there be tiers? Will it affect HBO Go? Is the aim to go head-to-head with Netflix and Amazon streaming? There are still many unanswered questions on the table that likely won’t be answered for many more months.
Given the popularity of Game of Thrones, launching this new HBO streaming service just ahead of the Game of Thrones Season 5 premiere in late March or early April would certainly spur a rash of subscriptions.
