HBO fans rejoice: You soon won t have to have a pay TV subscription — or your parent s HBO Go login — to watch the premium cable channel.
Starting next year, HBO will offer its HBO Go streaming service as a standalone product, company CEO Richard Plepler announced on Wednesday. At a meeting with investors of parent company Time Warner, Plepler noted that there are some 10 million U.S. homes that have broadband service but not pay TV. He also noted that there are some 80 million U.S. homes that don t subscribe to HBO.
That is a large and growing opportunity that should no longer be left untapped, Plepler said. It is time to remove all barriers to those who want HBO.
It s unclear how exactly HBO will offer the service. The company could allow broadband providers such as Comcast or digital set-top box or game console makers such as Apple and Microsoft to sell it as an add-on subscription. Or the company could sell the service directly to consumers like Netflix does.
The standalone HBO Go service will launch sometime next year, but Plepler didn t say exactly when. He also didn t say how much HBO will charge for the service. On average, HBO subscribers pay about $15 a month.
An HBO representative decline to comment on the announcement or offer more details.
HBO has faced growing competition from Internet only video services, particularly Netflix. Last year, Netflix surpassed HBO in the number of U.S. subscribers, although the latter still has a considerable global lead.
The move comes amid difficult times for the cable and broader pay TV industry. Last year marked the first time that overall pay TV subscriber rates have fallen on an annual basis.
The move also comes amid price hikes from Netflix. The Los Gatos company raised its subscription rate for its regular service by a dollar a month earlier this year. This week, it raised its price for subscribers who want to access ultra-high definition videos.
HBO already offers streaming video through HBO Go. But in the U.S., only consumers who subscribe to HBO through a pay TV service can access it.
Two years ago, the company began offering a standalone version of HBO Go in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland. But the service has compared with Netflix s rival offering.
