In
less than a month, people in the U.S. will be able to subscribe to HBO
without a cable or satellite TV subscription. The stand-alone HBO Now
streaming service unveiled this week will debut in time for the April 12
season premiere of “Game of Thrones.”
HBO
and ESPN have long been cited as a chief reason people keep their
pay-TV bundles, amid a growing practice of “cord cutting.” But last
month, Dish started making ESPN available as part of a $20-a-month
online television package called Sling TV. Now, HBO will offer its
movies and shows over the Internet for $15 a month.
Thus
far, people who want to watch HBO but don’t have a cable or satellite
contract have had to borrow friends’ or parents’ passwords to access
HBO’s streaming service, HBO Go. Now, they can subscribe and clear their
conscience. But HBO says it doesn’t believe the online-only offering
will accelerate cord cutting. Rather, HBO is targeting the 80 million
U.S. homes that don’t already have HBO. That includes some 10 million
broadband-only homes — not just cord cutters, but the younger “cord
nevers” who have never subscribed to traditional TV.
Here are some things to know before you rush out to cancel your service:
A BARGAIN?
HBO
is bucking the trend by charging $15 a month. Netflix, Hulu Plus and
other major online video services cost less than $10 each. As part of
pay-TV packages, HBO starts at $10 through Comcast and Time Warner
Cable. Many providers include HBO for free as part of promotions for
pricier packages.
So
consider this: If you want both HBO and ESPN, you’re paying $35 a month
without a cable package. Figure that the price of your Internet access
will go up by $20 when it’s unshackled from a TV bundle. You’ll have to
gauge this against how much you pay now for Internet access and your
cable or satellite package that includes hundreds of channels.
NOW VS GO
HBO
Now isn’t the same as regular HBO. The pay-TV version gives you about
20 traditional channels, including ones in Spanish, and entitles you to
the HBO Go streaming app. HBO Now won’t have the traditional channels,
but you can watch new episodes of shows in real time, just as you can on
HBO Go.
Both
Now and Go will have a similar library of movies and shows available
through their apps. That includes past and current seasons of HBO shows,
along with hundreds of movies, including those from Universal, Fox,
Warner Bros. and Summit. (Time Warner Inc. owns both HBO and Warner
Bros.)
Differences
will mostly be on the back end: Apple Inc. — not the pay-TV provider —
is handling HBO Now billing, at least initially. Major League Baseball,
which has a robust streaming network to deliver its games online, will
handle the technical aspects. MLB’s involvement means the user interface
on Now will differ from Go, which HBO handles in-house.
HBO also owns the Cinemax channel, but that’s not part of either offering.
SIGNING UP
The
service is available in the U.S. only. Apple has a three-month
exclusivity deal with HBO. During that time, people can sign up only
through an Apple TV streaming device or HBO Now’s app on iPhones and
iPads. Macs aren’t eligible. Apple will pull credit card information
directly from its iTunes service, so customers won’t have to fill out
screens of forms. After subscribing, customers are free to watch on
Android and Windows devices through a Web browser.
HBO plans to expand to other devices after the three months are up.
HBO
is offering the first month free, and there’s no minimum commitment. So
after “Games of Thrones” is over for the season, fans can cancel until
the next season. HBO is counting on people staying after discovering
other shows available through the app.
Posted by : Gizmeon
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