The US only cable service, which is responsible for some of the biggest TV shows ever (Game of Thrones, The Sopranos, The Wire, Deadwood, Boardwalk Empire, True Blood and Girls to name a few) has announced that next year, the plan on releasing a “standalone, over the top” version of HBO in the US for 2015.
HBO CEO Richard Plepler revealed the plans at an investor presentation yesterday (October the 15th where he also added that they would be working with “current partners”, (like Netflix) who currently have exclusive access to some of HBO’s shows.
This could signal a major change for HBO, and the TV landscape in the US, as HBO is a premium subscription based cable channel, and if the Streaming service is successful, they may be able to separate themselves from the costly Cable system.
See Also: HBO Coming to Amazon Prime Instant Video – But No Game of Thrones
What’s clear is that with HBO entering the market, streaming is here to stay, and with the amount of streaming and on demand services going through the roof, its becoming increasingly hard to pick a channel.
To name check a few Streaming services (Both international and UK based) you can already sign up to Amazon prime Instant Video (formerly Lovefilm), Netflix, WWE Network, Roku, Blinkbox , Now Tv, iTunes and even the Google Plays store the choices are large. However, with technology making it increasingly easy to access multiple Streaming services, the future may be bleak for Cable/Satellites subscription type TV services.
As people in the UK, we won’t hold our breath for HBO to launch its streaming service over here anytime soon, but the idea of finally having access to some of the greatest TV shows ever, all in one place is very appealing.
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