Read ahead to find out what we think about HBO’s new stand-alone service and learn why you should care. And don’t forget to test your HBO savviness below… you might just be surprised!
You may have heard, you may have not – but for all those cable television subscribers out there who are simply sick and tired of having to pay for hundreds of channels that you never watch – the time has come!
Attention my fellow cord-cutters and cord-nevers, I have some news.
HBO CEO Richard Plepler recently announced that the company will be launching its very own “stand-alone, over-the-top HBO service in the United States” next year!
Next year guys. 2015.
What does this mean for us? Basically that you’ll be able to buy HBO without having to pay for a cable subscription – so go ahead and say it: SAYONARA Dish Network, Comcast, DirecTV!
Or wait a second… maybe cable companies shouldn’t start digging their own graves quite yet.
Research suggests that the HBO “Go-It-Alone” move won’t affect those who are already paying for cable, but will attract “lower-income Internet savvy viewers” who never had cable in the first place. The Internet TV lovers, essentially, or what some refer to as the cord-nevers.
This means less new sign-ups for cable companies, which doesn’t actually mean an increase in cord-cutters. However, it does suggest an increase in the likelihood of cord-nevers.
It’s cable’s growth that will take the biggest hit if this service succeeds.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves and forget that the mighty world of cable is still very huge and very powerful. It’s incredibly profitable, but its dominance IS shrinking. In 2013, cable experienced its largest decline of subscribers to date.
So maybe the empire isn’t what it used to be? It seems that people have been changing their cable plans to something a bit more basic – something that sounds a bit more like “less channels, less money.” Is it the economy that’s doing this? The rise in Internet TV? Netflix are you ruining the cable industry?!?! Regardless of the reason, cable is losing some of its steam and HBO’s new service may only add fire to the problem.
What do YOU think? Would you choose the “mega-bundle” of cable channels, or what we call the “mini-bundle,” including services such as Netflix, HBO Go-It-Alone and Hulu? We want to know if you would pay a stand-alone fee to watch your HBO shows via the new “Go-It-Alone” service. And what about if another channel offered a similar service – would you be more willing to pay? Or would you then pay for multiple stand-alone services? (Click to join the debate – let us hear those thoughts, I know you have them!)
We still don’t have many details as to what HBO’s new service entails, but it may, or may not, dramatically impact cable television – forever. But this is just a maybe. If other channels start copying HBO’s idea, then we may just end up with a cluster of stand-alone products that no one wants to pay for.
Could those channel surfers stumbling upon HBO actually be more valuable than those actively paying for a stand-alone service?
Or will HBO find a way to challenge dear Netflix, perhaps by partnering with other channels and partners? The HBO CEO stated that the company is willing to “explore models with new partners,” as well as work with “current partners.”
Whatever the future may hold, I can say with certainty that cable television giants aren’t going to go away without putting up one heck of a Game of Thrones worthy fight.
My very un-original words of advice:
Let the games begin! And may the odds be ever in your favor.
How HBO savvy are you? Let us be the judge.
UPDATE: CBS has announced that it will also be launching an online streaming service that “allows consumers to view current and previous seasons of its shows without a cable or satellite subscription.”
Looks as though the tides may be shifting faster than expected! This change in heart from two of the TV industry’s leaders can be best described as a painful punch to the face of traditional cable television bundles.
CBS has announced that its service will cost $5.99 per month, but we are still waiting on the details of HBO’s service. We will, as always, keep you updated!