Cable-cutters, rejoice! HBO is going to be offered as a stand-alone streaming service in 2015. I would like to be optimistic and presume that this news will be followed by other offers of a similar nature for other cable channels. Could this be the start of a-la-carte cable? (Admittedly, what I have just written is mostly speculation.)
What is absolutely true is that Chairman and CEO of HBO, Richard Plepler, announced at a Time Warner Inc. Investor Meeting that the company will offer a stand-alone HBO streaming service in 2015. He said:
“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.”
The Washington Post notes that it has not been said exactly how much this new service will cost. It also hasn’t been made clear what content, specifically, will be offered through it.
There is some speculation going around online about what the cost might be. How will it compare to the cost of Netflix or Hulu? Will the stand-alone HBO streaming service eventually be offered outside the US? We will have to wait and see what happens.