Can HBO Stay Premium and OTT?
What You Need to Know…
After months of speculation, last week Time Warner announced that HBO will offer a standalone over-the-top service next year, a move immediately followed by CBS announcing its own broadband-only subscription service. Presumably, the services will allow customers who don’t subscribe to the pay TV bundle to view the network’s programming. But the details of what will be included in the service is still unclear. According to this article from The Daily Dot, luring customers to a pay a monthly fee will require a substantial library. The article points out what HBO can learn from Netflix, which has a library full of multiple networks’ programming–not just a limited supply from one channel.
The move by HBO to make its online streaming site HBO Go a standalone Web feature-meaning no longer dependent on a cable subscription- is certainly no surprise. Rumors of the change have been circulating for years, and the rise of the cordcutter combined with HBO’s premium content of late makes it a natural move for the pioneering network.