Finally announced! HBO Now, streaming service.

[midwestfisherman]

Well scratch that statement, I read it wrong! DOH!

http://www.cnet.com/news/king-beyond-the-paywall-apple-locks-hbo-now-for-game-of-thrones/

 

[cronos]

HBO Go on the Apple TV will not be streaming the new season of GOT. You must still go through iTunes to buy it. That's due to some exclusive deal that Apple is making HBO stick to. Which sucks BTW!

Haha where did you read this? I could've sworn the fact that it will be available right before the new GoT season starts is mentioned in the announcement (or maybe it's just people making assumption).

It's funny that this HBO-Apple deal went from Apple TV exclusive(meh), to be available also on iPad and iPhone and can be watched from PC/Mac (well that's much better), to... but there won't be GoT (boo!)

Edit: and apparently we're now back to 'much better'

 

[Anubis]

Well scratch that statement, I read it wrong! DOH!

http://www.cnet.com/news/king-beyond-the-paywall-apple-locks-hbo-now-for-game-of-thrones/

TBH I really don't see that driving people to buy an apple TV or benefit either party in any way

its simply going to piss a lot of people off and turn them away

 

[stlc8tr]

It's a good deal for both parties.

HBO gets to test their streaming platform on a user base that's used to paying for content. Apple gets to use the promise of HBO content to sell more devices.

Win-win.

 

[Roland00Address]

I hope HBO got paid millions of dollars for this contract. Enough to fund a couple seasons of whatever show (Game of Thrones costs about 6 million per episode, other shows are cheaper and sometimes far cheaper).

Why I hope this, for if the price is right for the Apple Exclusive 3 month contract it makes sense to do this tiered structure. It also gives more time to the software developers to make sure everything works with the new service.

But if HBO gave this away for a very low amount then it could be self destructive for they could have made far more money with a universal streaming service that works with other streamers such as chromecast and roku.

 

[cronos]

So, summarizing this thing:

When HBO Now starts being available, for the first three months you can only sign up through Apple TV, iPad, and iPhone (is it safe to assume iPod Touch as well?), but afterwards you can watch from all those devices *and* also on a browser from a Windows or OSX computer (which means if you use chrome, then it's easily Chromecastable?)

The fee is $15/month, and it includes 3 streams at the same time (oh the joy of sharing).

There will be no live stream, and everything is available on demand only (like Netflix, unlike Sling.tv).

 

[HN]

So, summarizing this thing:

When HBO Now starts being available, for the first three months you can only sign up through Apple TV, iPad, and iPhone (is it safe to assume iPod Touch as well?), but afterwards you can watch from all those devices *and* also on a browser from a Windows or OSX computer (which means if you use chrome, then it's easily Chromecastable?)

The fee is $15/month, and it includes 3 streams at the same time (oh the joy of sharing).

There will be no live stream, and everything is available on demand only (like Netflix, unlike Sling.tv).

There will be live stream

"You can even watch big premieres the same time they air on TV. "

http://www.apple.com/appletv/hbo-now/

 

[Mopetar]

Why I hope this, for if the price is right for the Apple Exclusive 3 month contract it makes sense to do this tiered structure. It also gives more time to the software developers to make sure everything works with the new service.

But if HBO gave this away for a very low amount then it could be self destructive for they could have made far more money with a universal streaming service that works with other streamers such as chromecast and roku.

3 months isn't a big deal. Anyone who doesn't have an iDevice and doesn't want one will hardly have a problem waiting 3 months. Given you can still use it on a PC until then makes it even less of an issue.

Also, HBO may have had a limited amount of developer time. It's either roll out only a single platform and launch earlier or wait until everything is done and launch later. Any money from Apple and the extra press coverage from getting some stage time at one of their events is just gravy.

Never mind that HBO gets another big announcement later (and more press) when they launch on other platforms. I'll bet Google would love to announce that HBO has arrived for Android at one of their events.

 

[cronos]

There will be live stream

"You can even watch big premieres the same time they air on TV. "

http://www.apple.com/appletv/hbo-now/

So this is live today, but I don't bring my iPod to work so I couldn't register for the free trial.

Anyway, from the way they worded it, there will be hours of delay to watch live programming, which means to me there *isn't* any live stream

Will shows, series and movies be instantly available at the same time as they arrive on broadcast HBO and HBO GO?

Yes. New episodes of original programming and theatrical films will become available on HBO NOW at the same time that they premier on HBO. Live programming has a delay on HBO NOW just like on HBO GO, but is added as quickly as possible, usually within hours of broadcast.

I think a minute delay like Sling I can still consider live, while 'hours' of delay is not.

 

[Chiropteran]

Does anyone know just what "sign up" entails? Could you, in theory, borrow an old iphone, sign up for HBO Now through itunes store, and then run it on other devices?

That is, is the apple-lock only applying to the signup process, or does it apply to the viewing process also?

 

[cronos]

Does anyone know just what "sign up" entails? Could you, in theory, borrow an old iphone, sign up for HBO Now through itunes store, and then run it on other devices?

That is, is the apple-lock only applying to the signup process, or does it apply to the viewing process also?

My understanding is it's the sign-up process only. So yes, I think your scenario should work.

 

[quikah]

3 months isn't a big deal. Anyone who doesn't have an iDevice and doesn't want one will hardly have a problem waiting 3 months. Given you can still use it on a PC until then makes it even less of an issue.

It is kind of a big deal when it covers the entire season of their most popular show.

Hmm, can you go to an apple store to sign up then watch on your PC?

 

[Commodus]

Sounds like Apple's exclusive may actually be a good thing, because it bumped up the launch date (from Fast Company, which the forum won't let me link):

Also, the deal focused the company’s digital ambitions—building for just one platform was infinitely less time-consuming than building for several—in a way that could ensure an earlier launch than the old deadline of late 2016.

If HBO had tried to cater to everyone at once, you'd probably still be waiting (or bootlegging).

 

[Red Storm]

Sounds like Apple's exclusive may actually be a good thing, because it bumped up the launch date (from Fast Company, which the forum won't let me link):



If HBO had tried to cater to everyone at once, you'd probably still be waiting (or bootlegging).

I find it laughable that they're claiming it would have taken them an additional 1.5-2 years to make it for other platforms.

 

[Commodus]

I find it laughable that they're claiming it would have taken them an additional 1.5-2 years to make it for other platforms.

Probably not that long, but months? Definitely. Enough that you'd miss the latest season of Game of Thrones, anyway.

 

[quikah]

Probably not that long, but months? Definitely. Enough that you'd miss the latest season of Game of Thrones, anyway.

? According to their webpage you can stream from their website, so it already works on non Apple. Also, how is this different from HBO go apps that already exist for other platforms?

 

[cronos]

Ok I just confirmed that I could simply sign-up for the 30-day trial on the HBO Now app on my iPod (through in-app purchase), and then watch on my computer browser (Chrome on Windows 7).

This subscription goes through App Store, so every month your iTunes account will be charged $14.95. I still haven't figured out how to cancel it. It's not on the hbonow.com website, so maybe from the App Store?

Update: Ok I found it. It's just like managing any other subscription on iTunes, so Settings - iTunes & App Store - Apple ID - View Apple ID - Subscriptions - Manage.

 

[Artdeco]

? According to their webpage you can stream from their website, so it already works on non Apple. Also, how is this different from HBO go apps that already exist for other platforms?

Was wondering that myself, I have a cable sub, and use the HBO Go app, as well as browser streaming, it's pretty good

Have noticed GOT's crashes the app and website on the first play nights

 

[cronos]

Obviously if you are already subscribed to HBO through your cable provider, you can just use HBO GO and don't need this.

We'll see how bad the crashes is going to be this weekend!