Those are your words, not mine.
All I'm doing is pointing out the reality of the situation. Sorry you don't understand it. HBO has iron-clad contracts with the cable and satellite companies. HBO is not allowed to compete with them at a more advantageous rate than that offered by the cable and satellite companies. You're lucky you even have the option at all, since the cable and satellite companies could simply dump HBO in the event of a breach, which would immediately eliminate 96% of HBO's income source, and leave them scrambling to sign up their customer base on HBO Now.
Cable and satellite companies charge about the same amount of money ON TOP OF the basic cable subscription. I just checked the list price on DirecTV and it's $17.99/month, and $15/month at Spectrum. The difference is, with HBO Now, if you want any other programming, you have to go out and get it a la carte, if it's available. Cable and satellite companies did not want HBO Now, but they worked out an agreement. And once you already have Cable and satellite providing most of your viewing content, there are packages which make HBO and the other premium channels much more affordable.
Now my guess is that HBO is gearing up for the eventuality of offering 4K HDR streams, once they are allowed, and/or have built the infrastructure to handle it. They have a lot less experience with streaming than Netflix and Amazon, as it's not their primary business model, so they aren't going to move as fast to roll it out, for that reason, or a contractual restriction with the cable and satellite providers. Certainly cable and satellite are scrambling to offer 4K HDR, so as not to get left out, and they will likely do everything in their power to offer it exclusively via the traditional platforms before they let HBO scoop them on it via the internet. That or these distribution companies will simply throw in the towel and charge you more for your internet service. Now that net neutrality is in jeopardy, a very likely scenario.
Hulu doesn't have 4K HDR either. Or at least if they do, I can't find it. CBS All Access is building their new streaming service without offering 4K HDR at present, and charging the same as Netflix for much less content. So no, not every streaming service out there is offering necessarily more than HBO, nor 4K HDR content. Indeed, even Netflix and Amazon's selection is limited. And what good does it do me, if I don't care for the content that is?
Again, I get what your beef is, but there are often factors that dictate these things, which you're simply choosing to ignore. In the end, most people are concerned about the content, not the format. I have a 4K HDR TV, and some 1080p material from Amazon looks as good as any 4K HDR material I've seen from them. So ultimately it's the content the service provider is valuing, regardless of the delivery method. And really, that's how it should be.
