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HBO unleashes streaming from cable contracts

J Thoendell stashed this in Film

Source: http://www.chron.com/business/technology...

Viewers longing to watch "Game of Thrones", "True Detective" and "Veep" will no longer have to pay big bucks for cable and satellite contracts. Next year HBO is cutting the cord and selling its popular streaming video service HBO Go as a stand-alone product, as more Americans choose to watch the Web, not the TV.

HBO CEO Richard Plepler said Wednesday that the move is aimed at targeting the 80 million homes in the U.S. that do not have HBO but may want access to its content — and especially the nation's 10 million broadband-only homes.

"That is a large and growing opportunity that should no longer be left untapped," Plepler said at parent Time Warner Inc.'s investor meeting in New York. "It is time to remove all barriers to those who want HBO."

Will this lead to a wave of pay-TV cancellations? HBO's move is a game changer in the industry, says Forrester analyst James McQuivey.

"HBO and ESPN are the two main reasons why people have cable and satellite TV," he said. "The whole industry has eyed them for years nervous that one day they would decide to do exactly what they said they'll do in 2015. We don't know until we see pricing and packaging how rapidly this will force a change in the way pay TV operators work, but it will definitely force a change."

<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.chron.com/business/technology/article/HBO-to-offer-stand-alone-streaming-service-5824332.php"><img src="//img.pandawhale.com/post-52149-HBO-unleashes-streaming-from-c-6Bbi.jpeg" alt="HBO unleashes streaming from cable contracts Houston Chronicle"/></a> Source: <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.chron.com/business/technology/article/HBO-to-offer-stand-alone-streaming-service-5824332.php">http://www.chron.com/business/technology...</a> Viewers longing to watch "Game of Thrones", "True Detective" and "Veep" will no longer have to pay big bucks for cable and satellite contracts. Next year HBO is cutting the cord and selling its popular streaming video service HBO Go as a stand-alone product, as more Americans choose to watch the Web, not the TV. HBO CEO <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.chron.com/search/?action=search&channel=business%2Ftechnology&inlineLink=1&searchindex=property&query=%22Richard+Plepler%22">Richard Plepler</a> said Wednesday that the move is aimed at targeting the 80 million homes in the U.S. that do not have HBO but may want access to its content — and especially the nation's 10 million broadband-only homes. "That is a large and growing opportunity that should no longer be left untapped," Plepler said at parent <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.chron.com/search/?action=search&channel=business%2Ftechnology&inlineLink=1&searchindex=property&query=%22Time+Warner+Inc.%22">Time Warner Inc.</a>'s investor meeting in New York. "It is time to remove all barriers to those who want HBO." Will this lead to a wave of pay-TV cancellations? HBO's move is a game changer in the industry, says Forrester analyst <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.chron.com/search/?action=search&channel=business%2Ftechnology&inlineLink=1&searchindex=property&query=%22James+McQuivey%22">James McQuivey</a>. "HBO and ESPN are the two main reasons why people have cable and satellite TV," he said. "The whole industry has eyed them for years nervous that one day they would decide to do exactly what they said they'll do in 2015. We don't know until we see pricing and packaging how rapidly this will force a change in the way pay TV operators work, but it will definitely force a change."