Apple in Talks to Bring HBO Go to the Apple TV

Bill Killer said:

So HBO OnDemand for DirecTV has every episode of The Sopranos, The Wire, Game of Thrones, True Blood, Da Ali G Show, Sex and the City, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Entourage, The Larry Sanders Show, and more?

I'm honestly asking. I have Uverse, and my parents have FiOS, and we both only get a few episodes of select shows, and most episodes in the current season of current shows.

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HBO OnDemand =/ HBO's entire library of programming.

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Bill, yes. Directv's version of HBO on demand is essentially the same content as HBO To Go. That change occurred a few months ago.

Note, there are some shows you mention which are not available either on HBO To Go or Directv ie LAarry Sanders and Ali G - my guess is there are mixed rights issues.

robjulo said:

Bill, yes. Directv's version of HBO on demand is essentially the same content as HBO To Go. That change occurred a few months ago.

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Nice.

UVerse needs to get its act together on a few things, namely BBC America in HD.

menithings said:

Already there. It's called Airplay mirroring.

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I would REALLY like to be able to use a Safari browser with my Apple TV.

Having to use another device such as my computer or iPod/iPad simply complicates what should be a simple interface.

charlituna said:

Nothing has suggested you have to pay Apple anything. It appears to be the same iOS app just in the Apple TV box at this point. With perhaps an option to pay direct if you don't have cable

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Apple will want their 30%. (I know, I know: "...and they should get it") ) So, if the change would be to cut out the cable cost (HBOs income stream) then the (new) cost for this would need to at least make this up. But if I'm the cable industry, why do I let that happen? Why should I allow Apple to weaken my hold on subscribers? Answer:I don't... If not through raw financial muscle, then I'll make it less appealing by upping the broadband toll on which this depends.

This probably happens but only if paired with that cable/watt bill. No jettison-the-cable-bill options.

My Apple TV usage = downloading/watching movies from iTunes. And that is it. No complaints....works great. But that is very narrow usage, admittedly.

Basic Comcast Cable is a wasteland of crap. If it weren't for NCAAF I wouldn't even have cable. Haven't watched HBO in decades. The problem with HBO used to be they played the same movies over and over every month and you quickly ran out of good ones. Is that still a problem?

Regardless, I prefer to cherry pick movies from the biggest movie dBase that I can find and pay "On Demand" as I go....not a fixed monthly fee.

SeattleMoose said:

Basic Comcast Cable is a wasteland of crap. If it weren't for NCAAF I wouldn't even have cable. Haven't watched HBO in decades. The problem with HBO used to be they played the same movies over and over every month and you quickly ran out of good ones. Is that still a problem?

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HBO's current claim to fame is not its movie selection, but its original programming. HBO television is second to none.

Peace said:

The iPad needs to be able to mirror and fill the screen.

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When viewing a video stream in full screen it does. It automatically switches. Not sure if all apps do it, but the few video streaming apps I have do.

WOOHOO!!! GIGGITY GIGGITY!!!

This is the moment I've been waiting for!!!

if this happens. Apple TV will be dominate! If you build it, they will come.

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flux73 said:

WOOHOO!!! GIGGITY GIGGITY!!!

This is the moment I've been waiting for!!!

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Me sentiments EXACTLY

dugbug said:

Nice. Now add an nfl rewind channel and I'm set

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Sunday Ticket and I'm set! And a way to take an incoming ATSC signal and make those live OTA channels searchable.

MagnumOP said:

Adding HBO Go is almost pointless. You can only get HBO Go if you subscribe to a TV package that includes HBO. So, this will in no way help any of us "cut the cord."

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Presumably, HBO Go on the Apple TV will not require a cable prescription. If so, you're right that would render this deal pointless.

canman4PM said:

This would be exciting, except I already get HBO on my TV...

...by turning on my TV and cable box.

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Exactly, this isn't enticing to me. It's just a nicer UI for On Demand.

Swift said:

Meanwhile, a Netflix exec said, "We've got to get to being HBO before HBO gets to be Netflix." That's the race.

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I read that same article. It's a very intelligent strategy, IMHO, except that HBO doesn't seem to have any interest in becoming Netflix. I think they will eventually get slaughtered by the likes of Netflix and Hulu. I used to pay $150/month for cable with internet and premium channels. Now I pay $55 + $8 + $8 for cable internet with Hulu and Netflix. I will never, ever go back to cable TV.

Bill Killer said:

Only non-local games. Regional coverage and primetime games are blocked, which means cutting the cable isn't a viable option in the slightest.

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Watching mainstream American sports on the internet is atrocious... largely balkanized, independent services and they still black out local games! I tried NHL Center Ice a few years ago and it was $150-200, very poor quality, and I couldn't watch my home team.

Sports leagues don't seem to have figured out that cable is slowly dying.

As a result, I pirate any event that I can't get on broadcast television. Sorry

bjsterilite said:

I honestly believe Apple would like to push out a sort of AppStore concept for the Apple TV in terms of content and it would be pay-per-channel per month along with small to large bundles. You could basically create your own package of channels and that to me would be "cracking" the TV.

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YES. The iPhone isn't really a phone. It's an ultra-portable computer with a phone application running on it.

I see Apple TV becoming the same way -- although unlike iPhone it probably won't support the "traditional" concept of television at all. TV channels will be replaced with Apps, and I'm sure we'll see some new APIs and new innovative apps to leverage them. And we'll probably see a shift towards gaming -- perhaps with bluetooth gaming pads made by third parties.

Enough people have bandwidth capable of streaming 1080 (or higher in the future) to fill the screens of a big flatscreen?

Bill Killer said:

HBO's current claim to fame is not its movie selection, but its original programming. HBO television is second to none.

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BK..thanx for answering my question. Sounds like HBO "evolved" into something better and worth checking out

MagnumOP said:

Adding HBO Go is almost pointless. You can only get HBO Go if you subscribe to a TV package that includes HBO. So, this will in no way help any of us "cut the cord."

And... by the way, the main article states that only Netflix and Hulu are available. This is not true. You can also stream sporting events from several leagues.

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It would be a benefit to me if they offer HBO Go in HD on the ATV, because I don't have HD service through DirecTV.

Shasta McNasty said:

The beauty of HBO Go is having all the series, all the episodes and movies they have had/are currently playing. I couldn't turn on my tv and go to HBO to watch Entourage if I wanted right at this moment unless it was currently playing.

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To me, that's exactly what I'd use it for.

That, and I have a guest room that I'm too cheap to pay the cable company $12/month to "rent" one of their tuners (because that room is only used a few weeks per year).

Now when I have guests stay, I can move the Apple TV back there, and they can stream away.

Previously, they were stuck with watching Blu-Rays and DVDs.

If they manage to swing this deal and ESPN without requiring cable subscription, the foundation will have been laid for the real Apple TV. Crossing my fingers that Steve Jobs' former ties with Disney will pay off big here.

It's not the ideal solution, but I would love this. I pay for HBO (hence I also pay for cable), I can get Netflix, Hulu, MLB, NBA on my ATV, why the heck can't I watch HBO Go on it?

NOt that exciting. Now if you don't need a cable or satellite subscription that would be exciting.

flux73 said:

Presumably, HBO Go on the Apple TV will not require a cable prescription. If so, you're right that would render this deal pointless.

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It does require it. That's how it works right now. HBO knows where it's bread is buttered.

If somehow that lock is broken, I would expect a fee of at least double what HBO plus access to this app costs now... probably more than double.

HobeSoundDarryl said:

Apple will want their 30%.

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You mean like the 30% they are not getting from HBOGo on the iPad with viewing linked to having a cable based HBO subscription.

HobeSoundDarryl said:

It does require it. That's how it works right now. HBO knows where it's bread is buttered.

If somehow that lock is broken, I would expect a fee of at least double what HBO plus access to this app costs now... probably more than double.

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I know how it works now. What I'm saying is, Apple negotiating this deal would presumably break that requirement. Everyone has a price, even HBO. And Apple's one of the few companies that could easily pay it. From Apple's point of view, it would be a relatively cheap subsidy to get their foot in the door. HBO and ESPN may be the two biggest blocks to their entry into a la carte TV. If they can get over those, the rest will fall, by necessity.

There's a convincing argument to be made to HBO that they could make MORE money by teaming up with Apple. It's up to Apple to prove it and convince them.

HobeSoundDarryl said:

It does require it. That's how it works right now. HBO knows where it's bread is buttered.

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Right, and record companies back in 2003 (when the iTunes Store launched with a measly 200,000 tracks total) were getting their bread buttered from physical CD sales.

Things change over time.

It's got to start somewhere, right?

Even if HBO would allow a stand alone (no cable subscription required) channel app on the Apple TV, the subscription fee would likely be ridiculous. I'd guess $15-$20 and they would limit and or block new releases. Guess I'll just have to stick with airplaying bootle streams.

FriarNurgle said:

Even if HBO would allow a stand alone (no cable subscription required) channel app on the Apple TV, the subscription fee would likely be ridiculous. I'd guess $15-$20 and they would limit and or block new releases. Guess I'll just have to stick with airplaying bootle streams.

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Not if Apple subsidizes the changeover. I could see Tim Cook promising to cover any lost revenues in cable subscribers with the subsidies decreasing as the revenues from Apple TV viewers ramp up. This way, they remove all risk from HBO. There's nothing for them to lose, and a MUCH broader audience to access.

The only sticking point I worry about is that HBO is owned by Time Warner Cable. So Apple may have to up the ante by subsidizing lost cable revenue as well. Either way, this shouldn't be a problem with Apple's piggy bank.