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HBO Go launching as a standalone streaming service in Latin America
HBO's Go on-demand streaming service is set to launch in Latin America and the Caribbean as a standalone subscription product, the network revealed today. While HBO Go has been available in these areas for pay-TV subscribers, cord-cutters will soon be able to enjoy too -- but with some added benefits. The service is expected to be similar to HBO Now, which is only available in the US, offering access to both live TV as well VOD content. HBO says it plans to rollout the service in Spanish-speaking markets across Latin America and the Caribbean, plus Brazil (Portuguese), by the end of this year. First up: Colombia, with more to follow thereafter.
HBO Now is finally on the Roku
After its stint as a 90-day Apple TV exclusive had come and gone, it seemed like HBO Now would never end up on the Roku. But, if you've been pining for episodes of Veep on your set-top box of choice, your wait is finally over. Beginning today the app (or Channel as Roku calls them) is available for download on all Roku players and televisions introduced after May 2011. New users can sign up for a account directly within the app and for $14.99 a month can catch up on Game of Thrones, True Detective, Leftovers and The Wire (one of the greatest TV shows ever). New users get a 30-day free trial and current subscribers can just log in with their current account info even if they signed up via the Apple TV.
HBO Now arrives on Amazon's Fire TV and Fire TV Stick
We knew it was coming, and now it's here. HBO Now, the network's standalone streaming service, is available on Amazon's Fire TV and Fire TV Stick devices after making its way to Android gadgets and the Chromecast earlier this summer. A $15 monthly subscription gets you access to HBO's library of content, including shows like Game of Thrones, True Detective and more. If you've been itchin' to give it a go on your Amazon streaming gear, a quick download is all that stands between you and rewatching The Sopranos this weekend. [Image credit: Andrew Burton/Getty Images]
HBO's exclusive deal for 'Sesame Street' cuts out Amazon and Netflix
With HBO finally doing battle directly against streaming video subscriptions from Netflix and Amazon, its biggest strike against those two comes today with an exclusive deal for Sesame Street. Most of us have grown up with Big Bird, Cookie Monster and the rest available primarily through PBS and they'll still be there, but with this five-year deal, HBO gets a nine-month exclusive (cable and streaming) on new episodes. Sesame Workshop CEO Jeff Dunn called the arrangement "a true winning public-private partnership model," that will give it the funding to keep making new episodes of the show, and a new Sesame Street Muppet spinoff series.
HBO Now finally gets Google Chromecast support
A few weeks after HBO Now hit Android, HBO is continuing to roll out the new streaming service beyond Apple's devices. Next up is Google's Chromecast, the company announced today. HBO Now's iOS app currently lists Chromecast support, and its Android app is expected to be updated today as well. While flinging shows from your smartphone and tablet to a Chromecast might not be as convenient as a standalone Apple TV app, the slight inconvenience is probably worth the gadget's low $30 price. HBO also plans to add support for Amazon's Fire TV devices soon. The big missing platform for HBO Now is Roku's devices, which already support the HBO Go app. A rep from the network couldn't divulge when we'd see HBO Now on Roku's wares, but noted that the company intends to bring the service to all of the devices that support HBO Go.
HBO Now comes to Verizon's internet customers
Cablevision isn't the only big US internet provider offering HBO Now -- Verizon* is also joining the fray. Anyone with broadband on Big Red can now use their existing account to sign up for the cord cutter service, complete with the usual 30-day trial run and $15 per month subscription. It's ultimately not much different than subscribing yourself, and you've probably already done that if you were determined to watch Game of Thrones or Veep without paying for traditional TV. Look it at this way, though: if nothing else, it's a token kindness from a telco that's known for trying to stifle net neutrality and otherwise limit the success of internet video services.
HBO Now hits Android devices, coming soon to Chromecast and Fire TV
After HBO Now was announced for Apple devices earlier this year, the network promised to bring it to the Android faithful this summer. Well, the time has come. If you own an Android phone or tablet (including Amazon's Fire devices), you can now access the standalone TV streaming option for $15 a month. You'll still have to wait to employ a Chromecast, Fire TV or Fire TV Stick to do your watching, though, but the service is said to arrive on those gadgets soon enough. Apple's 90-day exclusive window has ended, which allows folks who prefer Google's operating system a chance to give HBO Now a shot three months after its debut. And it doesn't require a cable subscription like HBO Go. If you decide to take the leap, you'll get access to shows like Game of Thrones, Silicon Valley and True Detective in addition to a library of older series (The Sopranos, etc.) and movies. However, if you choose to wait until you can stream it to your set-top box or dongle, we can't blame you.
HBO Now is coming to Android and Chromecast this summer
That Apple-exclusive streaming window is ending -- Google exec Sundar Pichai just announced that HBO Now is coming to Android too. Whether you use Android, iOS or a web browser, Google Cast support is coming too -- for the 17 million or so Chromecasts out there -- although there weren't exact details on when. HBO says it's coming "this summer," and Pichai mentioned it will be in time for the upcoming True Detective season, which premieres June 21st. There weren't any details on how, but it sounds like Google Play will offer subscriptions in the same way Apple (and Cablevision) have so far. Finally, whether you have cable or are a cord-cutter, HBO confirmed that HBO Now and HBO Go are both coming to Android TV soon. HBO VP Bernadette Aulestia says, "We have seen through social media that there is great demand for the service among Android and Chromecast users and we're excited to deliver HBO Now to them," so it looks like someone has been reading your posts. Don't miss out on all the latest news and updates from Google I/O 2015. Follow along at our events page.
HBO Now survey points to possible subscription discounts
Paying $15 a month for HBO Now is a pretty good deal, especially if you're a cord cutter who yearns for your weekly fix of Game of Thrones. But what if even that price is a little too rich for your blood? Well, HBO could be considering prepaid discounts that would lower that subscription cost by a significant amount. The folks over at Cut Cable Today discovered through a HBO survey that the premium cable network is asking some survey participants if they would consider three-month, six-month and one-year subscriptions for $29.99, $59.99 and $99.99 each. If you went for that annual $99.99 option, for example, you would only pay somewhere around $8.33 a month, which is a savings of around $80 a year. Of course, these options only appeared in a survey, so who knows if HBO will actually implement this. But wouldn't it be great if it did?
'Game of Thrones' pirated 3.5 million times despite HBO Now
HBO seemed certain that offering customers the option to watch without a cable subscription through its $15/month "HBO Now" app would help curb the rampant piracy afflicting its most popular shows. Nope! Variety reports that the latest episode of HBO's megahit "Game of Thrones" has been illegally downloaded 3.5 million times, in a single 24-hour period. That's a new record. Per Danish piracy tracking site Excipio, this season's episode six edged out last week's record-setting 3.22 million downloads. And given that Excipio only really covers P2P piracy, not direct download websites, those numbers are probably a little light. This, of course, comes after the first four episodes of the season were leaked online a full day before the HBO premiere in April. It's enough to make one to just up and start murdering popular lead characters. [Image Credit: Getty]
Cablevision offers 'Cord Cutter' packages with optional HBO Now
It looks like Cablevision is covering all of its bases. Today the company announced "Cord Cutter" packages that include a free digital antenna and access to its Optimum WiFi network. Additionally, Cablevision is offering the option of adding HBO Now to the service, making it the first ever cable provider to do so. With pay-TV losing customers to streaming services, it makes sense for these companies to offer broadband-only packages. In a statement, CEO Kristin Dolan, said: "Our new 'cord cutter' packages take a modern approach to traditional triple-product bundles and provide real alternatives that fit new consumer lifestyles."
If you said 'take my money HBO', it's ready to collect
It's here -- HBO without cable or satellite. Since HBO Now is live, the network is taking the logical next step -- tracking down folks that said they'd love to pay for its content and asking them to put their money where their tweets are. Last week it was replying to tweets received years ago, and today the marketing campaign took another step by including Jake Caputo, the founder of takemymoneyHBO.com, and a couple of special guests from The Sopranos. HBO Now has its own limitations (you'll need Apple devices and/or Cablevision internet to sign up), but since it's here and the content is mirrored from HBO Go, are you ready to sign up -- or at least jump on the month-long free trial?
HBO Now is live on Apple devices
HBO's cable-free streaming service, HBO Now, is available right this very second on Apple TV, iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, HBO says in a press release. Interested cable-cutters can see sign-up instructions and access HBO Now on desktops here. The service is exclusive to Apple devices for now -- Cablevision is offering its internet customers subscriptions too -- and costs $15 a month. Remember, the new season of Game of Thrones launches in just five days, so if HBO Now's exclusivity deal with Apple sounds as restrictive as a Dothraki barber shop, that's only because it is. The FAQ says an Android app is "coming soon" (probably outside Apple's 90-day exclusive window), and content-wise it should match what we've seen from HBO Go.
Sling TV will have HBO before 'Game of Thrones' premieres
Add another one to the slate of Sling TV options: subscribers to the streaming TV service will be able to get HBO soon. There's no word on an exact launch date, but Sling says it will be in time for the new season of Game of Thrones and Silicon Valley, which launch on April 12th. It's not the (still Apple-exclusive for online providers) HBO Now service, it's just regular HBO, with one live channel and video on-demand access. According to the Wall Street Journal, the deal is the result of negotiations between Sling's owner Dish Network and HBO's owner Time Warner that will also keep channels like TBS, TNT and TruTV on the satellite TV network. Adding the channel to Sling's $20 per month base package with AMC, TNT, ESPN and a few others will cost subscribers an extra $15 once it's available.
HBO, Sony reportedly look for special streaming deals with ISPs
According to the Wall Street Journal, as TV services shift from the traditional outlets (antenna, cable, satellite) to the internet big names like HBO, Showtime and Sony are worried about their services running into congestion and bandwidth caps. A possible way around that, is negotiating with ISPs to have their content delivered as a "managed service", like cable-provided phone service and video on-demand. If you're thinking "isn't that what net neutrality was supposed to stop?" you're not alone -- Sling TV CEO Roger Lynch is quoted calling the potential setup a "mockery" of the rules that will go into effect soon. Even Comcast is reportedly leery of running afoul of the regulations, and it's the one that already got into a dust-up with Netflix a couple of years ago by doing exactly this with its TV app on the Xbox 360.
Cablevision will offer HBO's standalone streaming service to its internet users
You'd think that cable companies would be the mortal enemies of internet-only TV services, but that's apparently not always the case. Cablevision has forged a deal to offer HBO Now to both its internet subscribers and those who use its Optimum WiFi access points. There's no details as to pricing or whether or not the offering will be available the moment HBO Now launches in April, but it won't be surprising if the service costs you around the $15 per month announced at Apple's March 9th event. Will other internet providers follow suit? It's hard to say. While HBO Now is potentially useful for preventing would-be cord cutters from ditching cable altogether (by letting them switch to cheaper TV packages), telecoms like Comcast and Verizon haven't been fond of online video services in the past.
HBO Now is cutting the cord, but there are still a few strings
With the exception of some special internet offers, until now the (legit) way to get HBO has been straightforward -- order it from your cable company along with a big TV bundle. Today, Apple and HBO took a leap over that paywall by announcing their partnership to launch the internet-only HBO Now. The only problem? That combination brings its own set of restrictions, and if you want a way around them, then help could come from a most unlikely source: your cable company.
HBO Now launches on the web and iOS in April
HBO CEO Richard Plepler just announced that its new cable-free streaming service will be available only on Apple devices (and PCs, per a press release) when it launches early next month. The price for HBO Now has also been confirmed at $14.99 per month, and it will be available in time for you to catch the season premiere of Game of Thrones on April 12th. Plepler also debuted a new GoT trailer, and mentioned that there will be a new channel on Apple TV for the service once it's available. Even better, there's a 30-day free trial for anyone that subscribes in April through the app. HBO is promising the service will have more than 2,000 titles online, "similar" to HBO Go. Update: For the full breakdown and details on Apple's 90-day digital exclusive deal, click here.
HBO's standalone streaming service reportedly costs $15 per month
Wondering how much HBO's hyped-up standalone streaming service will cost you when it (hopefully) arrives this April? Considerably more than your Netflix subscription, it seems. The International Business Times hears that the internet-only offering, reportedly called HBO Now, will set you back $15 per month. That's not extravagant (your TV provider, if you have one, is paying roughly as much behind the scenes), but it reflects the company's view that this is a premium product.
