Access HBO To Go Without Cable Subscription Starting 2015

Access HBO To Go Without Cable Subscription Starting 2015

In the past couple of years, HBO Go gained their popular online presence. As we all know, many streaming services that offer television over the internet requires cable subscription. That means, HBO GO was an add-on for people who already had HBO, not an alternative way of getting shows for people who didn't.

Few days ago, from a report released by Time Warner, HBO Chairman and CEO Richard Plepler announced the news that fans of the network's programming but not of cable packages have been waiting to hear: Beginning in 2015, HBO will offer a streaming service to cord-cutters and other non-subscribers on an a la carte basis.

It should be noted that the announcement HBO released to the media does not explicitly say the service will be HBO GO, only that it will be "a stand-alone, over-the-top, HBO service." And, of course, it doesn't say how much the service will cost. It doesn't even say it will carry every HBO show, but HBO Go has a lot of archived materials to air.

Those who are currently jumping up and down and declaring their independence from their cable provider may or may not be as happy when more details emerge in the near future.

This is really a big move to HBO, given that requiring a cable subscription is standard on many services besides HBO that provide streaming access to cable programming (without requiring episode-by-episode purchase through services like iTunes or Amazon).

The announcement says HBO will "work with our current partners" and "explore models with new partners," but it seems inevitable that an arrangement like this will unsettle cable providers who have been able to use legitimate access to premium networks, like HBO as one of the remaining barriers against cord-cutting, the practice of declining to have a cable subscription in favor of watching online, according to Digital Trends.

How large a step in that direction the HBO service will represent remains to be seen, but some version of a service people have been demanding for a very long time is in the near, and increasingly complex, future. Well, we have to see how this big step of HBO will result to everyone.

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