Finally announced! HBO Now, streaming service.

[Dulanic]

Took long enough... kind of funny it's cheaper than a HBO Subscription through cable providers. $14.99 a month.

http://order.hbonow.com/

 

[Dulanic]

BTW, NOT happy it is premiering for apple first before anyone else.

 

[cronos]

I can't tell if HBO is smart or dumb with the Apple TV exclusive thing. It certainly makes a lot of people angry, that's for sure.

I wonder how long the exclusivity period is. A month or two? Right after Game of Thrones season ends?

 

[Qbah]

How is that different from HBO Go mobile app? Or the website?

 

[Dulanic]

How is that different from HBO Go mobile app? Or the website?

Go requires a cable description to HBO, this is purely streaming and is great for cable cutters.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I can't tell if HBO is smart or dumb with the Apple TV exclusive thing.

Very smart for Apple. Just made that device relevant again after it created the market. If they put HBO on a shelf that a Roku can't reach then Roku can't go mainstream.

 

[dainthomas]

If it was that price to stream through the HBO Go app I'd consider it. But I'll just add it to my Directv subscription for a few months for GoT like normal.

 

[Dulanic]

Very smart for Apple. Just made that device relevant again after it created the market. If they put HBO on a shelf that a Roku can't reach then Roku can't go mainstream.

It's a stupid move on HBO's part. Apple TV is not even the #1 streaning device, might have lost #2 even but I haven't researched. They are cutting off a big source of revenue for no real reason. They have HBO Go created for all of these devices, it can;t be a huge investment to create a "alternate" version for HBO Now and open up that revenue stream.

 

[cronos]

Very smart for Apple. Just made that device relevant again after it created the market. If they put HBO on a shelf that a Roku can't reach then Roku can't go mainstream.

No question it is very smart for Apple. I was talking about from HBO stand point

While my instant reaction is that it is a stupid move on HBO part, after I thought about it some more I think this is a calculated move. It may be used as leverage by HBO to negotiate with the cable companies about their contract. They definitely won't be happy that HBO is selling direct, but at least a (temporary?) exclusivity softens the blow a little bit.

 

[KentState]

Took long enough... kind of funny it's cheaper than a HBO Subscription through cable providers. $14.99 a month.

http://order.hbonow.com/

Not really cheaper. You have to pay for service plus data, especially when you have to deal with data caps.

 

[janeuner]

And now I have the excuse I needed to wait for the end of GoT season 5 before subscribing for only one month.

 

[Dulanic]

Not really cheaper. You have to pay for service plus data, especially when you have to deal with data caps.

Well it is a bit cheaper, Caps are a PITA which is why I ended up going /w business internet.. well and because my work pays for it. But it is $15 vs the avg of $18-20 for HBO through cable providers.

 

[Qbah]

Go requires a cable description to HBO, this is purely streaming and is great for cable cutters.

Oh, didn't know that. The nordic version of HBO doesn't need anything, you just start an account on the website, start a subscription and can watch on your PC, tablet or mobile.

 

[Dulanic]

Oh, didn't know that. The nordic version of HBO doesn't need anything, you just start an account on the website, start a subscription and can watch on your PC, tablet or mobile.

Ya, like usual those in the US kind of get screwed over by corporate greed.

 

[Qbah]

Ya, we in the US support being bent over and screwed over by corporate greed.

At least you can use your X1 / PS4 to watch HBO. Good luck with that on the nordic version D:

EDIT: Haha, caught your ninja edit

 

[cronos]

So, there are two pieces of information that weren't available earlier (or at least I wasn't aware of):

1. Some articles mentioned that the exclusivity period will be for three months. Unsure about the accuracy of this, but I've read a few that mentioned this.
2. The exclusive will be on iOS instead of just Apple TV. I think this is a pretty significant distinction.

I only followed the event through live blogs, so these may be mentioned in the announcement but the information didn't come through (or I simply missed them).

 

[Mopetar]

It's a stupid move on HBO's part. Apple TV is not even the #1 streaning device, might have lost #2 even but I haven't researched.

It's not just AppleTV, but also other iDevices as well, which do have a large install base. I'm assuming that Apple is paying HBO for the exclusivity as well which may more than make up for any potential lost sales as far as HBO is concerned. Never mind that they got to announce it on stage at one of the most watched tech events and will likely get a load of free press mentions out of it as well.

It's also available for PC so if you have Chromecast or something similar you shouldn't have a problem. It'll be out for other devices eventually, but it's not as though it's completely restricted to Apple.

 

[cronos]

It's not just AppleTV, but also other iDevices as well, which do have a large install base. I'm assuming that Apple is paying HBO for the exclusivity as well which may more than make up for any potential lost sales as far as HBO is concerned. Never mind that they got to announce it on stage at one of the most watched tech events and will likely get a load of free press mentions out of it as well.

It's also available for PC so if you have Chromecast or something similar you shouldn't have a problem. It'll be out for other devices eventually, but it's not as though it's completely restricted to Apple.

Yeah if you follow this thread from the top you'll see that people made comments under the assumption that the exclusivity is strictly for Apple TV only. Having the iPad and iPhone in there as well made it a completely different ball game.

 

[MongGrel]

Bit leery of it myself.

I can get HBO GO atm and can stream all the Game of Thrones episodes and many other things, the Wire, Deadwood, Sopranos, etc, but if I go to HBO on demand off the cable box it doesn't even offer Game of Thrones and many as an option at all.

Just one example, but even regular HBO subscription atm seems to be a very limited compared to HBO GO.

Is it comparable to just HBO GO ?

Not sure if a big deal un bundling Cinemax with it to go there either.

 

[Strk]

Bit leery of it myself.

I can get HBO GO atm and can stream all the Game of Thrones episodes and many other things, the Wire, Deadwood, Sopranos, etc, but if I go to HBO on demand off the cable box it doesn't even offer Game of Thrones and many as an option at all.

Just one example, but even regular HBO subscription atm seems to be a very limited compared to HBO GO.

I wonder if that is less HBO and more cable companies sucking though.

Regardless, I think the Apple exclusivity is stupid. I just hope it is a brief time period. Maybe it is just a way for HBO to get free advertising by having Apple do it?

 

[Aikouka]

Ya, like usual those in the US kind of get screwed over by corporate greed.

If it makes you feel any better, I can't use my HBO GO on my PS3 or PS4 because Comcast refuses to allow authentication for those devices.

 

[Dulanic]

If it makes you feel any better, I can't use my HBO GO on my PS3 or PS4 because Comcast refuses to allow authentication for those devices.

Which hopefully throws more ammo into the blocking of the Comcast TWC merger. I am stuck with Comcast for internet as I need certain speeds for work and work pays for it anyways, but I refuse to use them outside of that.

 

[Rakehellion]

BTW, NOT happy it is premiering for apple first before anyone else.

Apparently they tried to put it on the PS4 but Sony fumbled that one.

 

[Rakehellion]

How is that different from HBO Go mobile app? Or the website?

Those require a subscription to HBO, which requires a cable TV subscription.

 

[Rakehellion]

It's a stupid move on HBO's part. Apple TV is not even the #1 streaning device

With moves like this, it will be. And I'm sure HBO isn't hurting for subscriptions.