Take my money, HBO

Post by ckrailo » Wed, Jun 06, 2012, 2:47 AM UTC

tjmc wrote: post #64

hartror wrote: post #2

"We pirate Game of Thrones, we use our friend's HBOGO login to watch True Blood…" Yeah I am not associating myself with that. Perhaps something like "We don't currently pay to see your content". Honestly as an Australian I don't see this happening here, the cable here is an effective monopoly and unless they get a cut of the profits they're not going let HBO do this. It might be completely against their business mode…

Interestingly GoT seasons 1 and 2 are available on iTunes in Australia. The latest episodes only take an extra week to show up from when they're first screened in the US. Even so, Australians apparently pirate the show in greater numbers than elsewhere. Could be because it's $3/episode or it's only standard def or it's a week late. My guess is people find it just as easy to torrent it so don't even bother to look at…

Post by sg214 » Wed, Jun 06, 2012, 2:48 AM UTC

MiguelHudnandez wrote: post #52

sg214 wrote: post #44

HBO as an add-on to cable packages costs ~$20. If HBO were to offer it as a standalone service, they would have to handle billing, subscription management, increased marketing budget to make up for marketing that cable/sat currently offers for them, etc. So unless a critical mass of people are willing to pay AT LEAST $30 per month, this is a lost cause.

They cost around $20, but do we know what HBO's cut is?

Post by ckrailo » Wed, Jun 06, 2012, 2:51 AM UTC

hospadam wrote: post #82

mfringel wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're correct. HBO is offering people two options. However, there seems to be a significant amount of people who want a third option, which HBO considers itself structurally prohibited from providing. It is precisely no one's fault but HBO's that HBO has painted itself into a corner.

You're exactly right - there is a vocal set of people that want a third option. My point is, however, no business has to offer the "third option". Just because they don't offer the third option doesn't make downloading them for free OK.

Post by sneak » Wed, Jun 06, 2012, 2:54 AM UTC

Steko wrote: post #63

I'd planned to buy Game of Thrones when it came out on iTunes a couple months ago but I realized that even that still indirectly supports the buzz around this property and the way it's primarily delivered. Instead I'd suggest fellow cord cutters just skip Game of Thrones entirely, don't pirate it, don't even watch it. Instead spend your money and leisure time supporting content that's provided online. When your frien…

Post by ckrailo » Wed, Jun 06, 2012, 2:56 AM UTC

kenshi wrote: post #23

There is a difference between people saying they will pay for something versus all of those people actually handing over hard currency for it.