HBO’s much-anticipated standalone streaming service, HBO NOW, will be available in April exclusively to users of Apple devices, including iPhones, iPads, iPod touch and Apple TV, Apple and HBO said Monday at Apple’s press day in San Francisco. HBO is continuing to negotiate with other providers, and the exclusivity with Apple is only expected to remain in place for three months.

HBO NOW will offer subscribers latest and archived episodes of HBO series, much like HBO Go now offers that content to subscribers to the premium cable channel. What differentiates HBO NOW from Go is that users don’t have to subscribe to HBO via their cable provider in order to watch. HBO NOW will be available for $14.99 per month.

Those who subscribe in April, which will be just in time for the premiere of HBO’s popular fantasy drama, Game of Thrones, will get 30 days free, HBO said.

According to Apple, more hours of HBO video are streamed to Apple devices than all others combined.

HBO’s decision to offer a standalone streaming service helps it more effectively compete with upstarts such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant Video. Also, with the rise of cord-cutters and cord-nevers, TV watchers who only watch via online streaming, HBO feels it needs another way into viewers’ homes.

“That is a large and growing opportunity that should no longer be left untapped,’’ said HBO CEO Richard Plepler in October. “It is time to remove all barriers to those who want HBO. “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.”

HBO is joining a growing contingent of networks that offer a standalone streaming service. Dish Network has Sling TV, which includes networks such as ESPN, while CBS launched CBS All Access last fall. Last week, NBC announced a streaming service for its comedy brands.

HBO, and its sibling network Cinemax, added 2.8 million subscribers in 2014, the most in more than 30 years, reports the New York Times. The two networks counted about 138 million worldwide subscribers, with about 46 million domestic paid subscribers. In comparison, the Times said, Netflix counted 59 million total paid members, 40 million in the United States.

On Monday, Apple made other announcements and launched Apple Watch, which will cost $349 for the standard model but can run as high as $17,000 for a rose gold version. Apple Watch will have a battery life of 18 hours, and is designed to work with the iPhone. The watch will offer apps similar to iPhone, allowing users to use it to pay for groceries using Apple Pay, hail an Uber or Lyft, or get messages or directions directly delivered to them. The watch will be available on April 24.

Read more: New York Times

Brief Take: Both partners benefit from this announcement, with Apple getting at least two more reasons to drive buyers to its devices, and HBO getting another way to promote the season five premiere of its blockbuster, Game of Thrones.

Tags:


  Save as PDF