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HBO is finally going to let you watch its shows without cable

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Re: HBO is finally going to let you watch its shows without cable

#71
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you see something asserting point 4?

Maybe it won't work on your Android-powered toaster, but the devices they currently support are fairly comprehensive: http://www.hbogo.com/#devices/

if OpenELEC, or Wii U were on there I would sign up immediately.

Re: HBO is finally going to let you watch its shows without cable

#72

So all that stuff they were saying about how it was financially impossible to do this was just PR fabrication? I never would have suspected.

I don't think "financially impossible" was the phrase they used. As far as I know, they simply seemed to feel it was disadvantageous at that time.

Re: HBO is finally going to let you watch its shows without cable

#73

What about Canada? I'd subscribe in a second as we too, are cord cutters up here.

Bell owns the rights to the HBO name here, and currently bundles HBOGO (and HBO content) under TMNGO. You currently need to be a subscriber on one of their "approved" TV providers to access it, like HBOGO.

Now Bell will likely make some concessions to prevent complete Canadian public outrage, but whatever the US gets, I'm sure the Canadian version will have a few drawbacks added to the existing ones in the US service.

Re: HBO is finally going to let you watch its shows without cable

#74
post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've found that it's not terribly difficult to wait for the shows to come to Amazon Instant. For a bit I pirated premium channel content on release and bought it on Amazon Instant after the fact. I eventually realized that waiting really didn't impact my enjoyment. I do still supplement my NBA League Pass with viewing of unauthorized streams for games that are not aired on League Pass.

Game of Thrones season 4 is still not on Amazon in the US. I think that would impact my enjoyment, since part of the enjoyment is being able to talk to people about it. By the time I'd be able to watch it on there, they wouldn't even remember what happened that season.

I imagine you're right - GoT may be the only one I can think of like that for me, but I have the luxury of watching at a friend's house.

Re: HBO is finally going to let you watch its shows without cable

#75
I would have cut my cable years ago if I could have gotten current episodes of True Blood and The Walking Dead through streaming services.

This is a step in the right direction. Comcast and Verizon must be quaking in their boots because as more networks decide to go the direct distribution route, the less necessary their TV distribution services will become.

Re: HBO is finally going to let you watch its shows without cable

#76
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you see something asserting point 4?

Maybe it won't work on your Android-powered toaster, but the devices they currently support are fairly comprehensive: http://www.hbogo.com/#devices/

I can't even read that page without Flash installed. That's a pretty bad sign already.

Re: HBO is finally going to let you watch its shows without cable

#77
I've spent the last 5+ years using subscription models. I'm about done with them. Disappearing content. Inconvenient or no access at times and places. Increasingly feeling I've been funding the very "editing" and abuse I've wanted to escape.

My personal conclusion is that the money would have been better spent just gradually building up my own library. And, were it closer, in supporting my local library.

In other words: Too little, too late, for me.

Re: HBO is finally going to let you watch its shows without cable

#78
post #34

HBO has enough good content that I keep subscribing to cable to get it. I have zero interest in sports (ESPN). So for me, this is the end of my cable subscription. This is the beginning of the end for cable. And hopefully also for propaganda stations like Fox News.

"This is the beginning of the end for cable. And hopefully also for propaganda stations like Fox News and MSNBC." Fixed.

Huffington Post is the most-shared site on Facebook. Cable is not responsible for trash news, a lot of people eat it up.

Re: HBO is finally going to let you watch its shows without cable

#79
post #61

I cut the cord 3 years ago and regularly pay 2 dollars an episode for shows I want to watch. I own several rokus and pay for prime, hulu (occasionally) and netflix (occasionally). I have never been happier with my tv/media consumption. Hulu is the only thing I would like to replace... I have no tolerance for ads... I'd pay more to get rid of them. I don't know how anyone watches regular tv (unless it's with a DVR).

This. I actually had an idea for producing a product that gave users truly commercial free cable (the way it was actually intended to function in the first place).But considering the nature of that market the only real way to make it work, at least based on my cursory research, is to become the content provider (much like what Netflix is doing).

Re: HBO is finally going to let you watch its shows without cable

#80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How are Netflix, Prime, and even HBO different? You pay them for access to all of the content they decide to carry. I don't see how Netflix is "a la carte."

You pay them for access to everything, but they know what you are watching -- this is quite unlike typical broadcast/cable where only some very small subset (historically "Nielsen Families") are tracked.

This is not accurate. There are a couple of competitors to Nielsen, but more importantly, most cable providers these days track what everyone is watching. They may not do a ton with that data (depends on the company), but it's not like they don't have the data.
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