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I wish. GoT airs an episode a week. With ten episodes, it will span into early June. So you're paying at least 30 bucks.



HBO Now is exclusive to Apple TV at launch. No word on how long the contract lasts.

3 motnhs according to buzzfeed

"HBO Now will be offered exclusively — for three months — on Apple TV for $14.99 a month, beginning in April."
 
I wish. GoT airs an episode a week. With ten episodes, it will span into early June. So you're paying at least 30 bucks.

Ok, so I wouldn't get the last part of the latest season, but does HBO NOW (or HBO GO, for that matter) give you access to all previous seasons of GoT? Or just the current season?

(I was thinking I'd use the free month to catch up on all previous seasons. I haven't watched a single episode at this point.)
 
Ok, so I wouldn't get the last part of the latest season, but does HBO NOW (or HBO GO, for that matter) give you access to all previous seasons of GoT? Or just the current season?

(I was thinking I'd use the free month to catch up on all previous seasons. I haven't watched a single episode at this point.)
Normally they provide all previous seasons. Whether or not they might do something different for those on a trial or something like that, it's hard to say, although probably unlikely.
 
Ok, so I wouldn't get the last part of the latest season, but does HBO NOW (or HBO GO, for that matter) give you access to all previous seasons of GoT? Or just the current season?

(I was thinking I'd use the free month to catch up on all previous seasons. I haven't watched a single episode at this point.)

Yep, currently HBO GO allows you to watch the previous seasons of GoT. Not sure how they plan on differentiating NOW from GO though.
 
I wonder if HBO Now will have any effect on HBO Go?? I do hope HBO Go stays in place for those of us who subscribe to HBO at home already

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Last I heard HBO Now will also be on Google Play so your comment makes no sense.
Per the HBO president, HBO Now is exclusive to Apple TV without a cable TV HBO subscription. You may have it confused with HBO Go which was available prior to today

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Yep, currently HBO GO allows you to watch the previous seasons of GoT. Not sure how they plan on differentiating NOW from GO though.
Simple, if you have a cable subscription, you use HBO Go. If not, HBO Now. I'm guessing the list of offerings are going to be identical. I'm just hoping that HBO Go doesn't get the ax
 
Hey cord cutters, you want HBO content independent of a cable subscription? Well we've done that for you, but you have to buy an Apple TV because we can't have you being a part of another company's ecoysystem. HBO And Apple are master trolls. Jesus.

Never mind all the people who already have Apple TVs and have been looking forward to this...

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I've a feeling Apple & HBO are going to be disappointed with the uptake numbers of this new service.

I think HBO will be quite happy to receive the money they are not currently getting from me when I sign up for this service.

Does anyone know if it will work with 2nd-gen ATVs or does it require 3rd-gen?
 
HBO customers who subscribe through cable have to pay for another service? They must be drunk, hold I got Charter Communications and they blame Apple for no access.
Whenever I go to authenticate with HBO GO, it pulls up the logos of a gazillion other US cable companies. Weird how Charter hasn't been able to figure it out.

I understand that HBO has original content, but there is also so much less of it by comparison that I have a hard time justifying the additional premium.
Doesn't HBO get "new movies" more quickly than Netflix?
 
HBO customers who subscribe through cable have to pay for another service? They must be drunk, hold I got Charter Communications and they blame Apple for no access.



Going back at drinking some kool aid.:rolleyes:

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Yeah great and now they will ruin internet streaming soon like cable thanks for this.

I think you have this totally wrong. For those who already subscribe to HBO via cable, there is HBO Go... which is free for them. For those who don't subscribe to cable, there is HBO Now, which will cost $14.99 per month. Not sure exactly how similar the services will be but, I assume that Go will have everything Now has and probably a little bit more.
 
Never mind all the people who already have Apple TVs and have been looking forward to this...

There's no need to state the ovious. Of course there are plenty of people with Apple TV's who can take advantage of HBO NOW.

The fact of the matter is, the majority of streaming users do not have ATV. Roku and Chromecast outsell ATV and have more overall users, with the Fire TV steadily gaining on ATVas well. Apple's market share isn't what it used to be and exclusivity deal is pretty strange given the product's falling numbers. There's no doubt this deal will help boost Apple's falling market share.

This is just showcasing Apple's business model as of late: focus on the software, delay/neglect hardware (which they've always been known for). They're increasing profit margins by keeping old, outdated tech, but applying a fresh coat of paint on it.
 
Doesn't HBO get "new movies" more quickly than Netflix?

That's a good point. I had actually entirely forgotten that HBO even runs movies. I was thinking of getting HBO Now primarily for the TV shows.

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The fact of the matter is, the majority of streaming users do not have ATV. Roku and Chromecast outsell ATV and have more overall users, with the Fire TV steadily gaining on ATVas well. Apple's market share isn't what it used to be and exclusivity deal is pretty strange given the product's falling numbers. There's no doubt this deal will help boost Apple's falling market share.

Apple sucks, blah blah blah. Troll. I don't understand why people like you even visit this site.
 
I've a feeling Apple & HBO are going to be disappointed with the uptake numbers of this new service.

There's only so many services people can afford... music service (Spotify), cable service, Office 365 service... the list goes on. And it can only last for so long.

But then again, I'm probably wrong.

As I said when the rumors came around with now-known-accurate pricing of $15/month, so long as the service can be suspended for multiple months of the year, I think they will have a large portion of cord-cutters coming in to binge on the latest season of their favorite HBO shows. I mean, you can easily binge through a season of Game of Thrones in a month, but if it takes you two, that's $30 for the season instead of $38.99 on the iTunes store or closer to $45 on disk, and you watch it all during the last month of the show's season instead of having to wait a year.

So long as the details are done "right", this will have a huge uptake. It might not be a cash cow for HBO like their cable add-on service is today, but HBO is smart enough to know that that particular cow is getting old and starting to appear a bit sickly.
 
There's no need to state the ovious. Of course there are plenty of people with Apple TV's who can take advantage of HBO NOW.

The fact of the matter is, the majority of streaming users do not have ATV. Roku and Chromecast outsell ATV and have more overall users, with the Fire TV steadily gaining on ATVas well. Apple's market share isn't what it used to be and exclusivity deal is pretty strange given the product's falling numbers. There's no doubt this deal will help boost Apple's falling market share.

This is just showcasing Apple's business model as of late: focus on the software, delay/neglect hardware (which they've always been known for). They're increasing profit margins by keeping old, outdated tech, but applying a fresh coat of paint on it.

Well if you take the installed base of AppleTV units (assuming you need an ATV3 to get this) and just sell into those, you have a very large market potential. No, it isn't "the world", but that's not necessarily a bad thing for your first three months' ramp-up time period. It is also not as small a share as you would think from the "market share" numbers - while Roku outsells ATV, in my experience many many cord-cutting households have multiple streaming boxes/sticks attached to their TVs.

Will this sell Apple TVs? Doubtful, directly. I mean, there will be the people who don't have cable but want to watch the latest GoT when it airs (presumably they've been buying blurays of the previous seasons?) who will see $100 ($70 for the ATV plus $30 for HBO Now for the two non-free-trial-period months) to be a decent price for that. But, I think those will be fairly rare.

What Apple gets from this deal is more publicity around the AppleTV, and presumably a chunk of the HBO Now subscription profits.

What HBO Go gets out of this deal is a good smallish user base to pilot with, on known and stable hardware, and with the backing of a world-class company if anything goes sideways technically.

If you don't have an ATV then don't worry. In July HBO Now will likely be available on your streaming box of choice. Until then, it is business as usual for you.
 
If this somehow changes the forecast for the Amazon FireTV stick (the other model has HBO) then I would go back to ATV. It is all I am missing from my FireTV stick.
 
Doesn't HBO get "new movies" more quickly than Netflix?

It depends on the studio.

HBO has deals with Warner, Universal and Fox and typically gets to air their new releases 10-15 months after the theatrical release of a film. Netflix currently has deals with DreamWorks Animation, Sony Pictures Animation and Relativity to air their new releases approximately 6-9 months after theatrical. In addition, Nexflix has a deal with Epix to air their content (from Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM) 6 weeks after it debuts on Epix, which is typcally 9 months after theatrical. Netflix also gets some, but not all, of the Weinstein Company's product, and typically can offer it 7-10 months after theatrical.

Currently, Disney and Sony new releases are available via Starz (and the Starz Play apps) approx 9-12 months after Theatrical and Showtime gets the few remaining CBS films, Dreamworks Theatrical (non animated) some of the Summit titles and the bulk of the Weinstein stuff, which is available on Showtime Anywhere. These are typically available 12-18 months after release.
 
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Guess I'll be cancelling my HBO through DirecTV @ $17.99 a month. I'll bet they will be offering incentives to stay.

I'm hoping it is just HBO Go under a different name....with full access to back catalog, etc. I don't know why it wouldn't be, since HBO Go is offered free with an HBO Subscription.
 
I'm happy to see it happen, but I can't say I'm happy with the price. Doesn't stand up well against Netflix's huge library for $9.99 or other competitors.

I understand that HBO has original content, but there is also so much less of it by comparison that I have a hard time justifying the additional premium. It just isn't a one-stop shop, y'know? HBO Now will always be in addition to another subscription if their content breadth doesn't improve.

To me it is worth it since there are quite a few shows that I love watching on HBO and can't get any where else. Right now, cable companies are charging more for the same service.

My lineup will be Netflix, Hulu Plus, and now HBO (when my contract comes up, but I will be dropping HBO from my cable company and purchasing this as it is still cheaper). Most if not all of my TV watching will be handled via these three services. I will still be saving over a $100 a month but dropping my cable and just keeping the internet portion.
 
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Guess I'll be cancelling my HBO through DirecTV @ $17.99 a month. I'll bet they will be offering incentives to stay.

I'm hoping it is just HBO Go under a different name....with full access to back catalog, etc. I don't know why it wouldn't be, since HBO Go is offered free with an HBO Subscription.
HBO is $18/month on DirecTV?
 
HBO is $18/month on DirecTV?

Ours was, I can take a screenie if you want, we still have account access (cancelled/CTC about a month or so ago :D )

$131/month for mid-tier package ($66.99), HBO ($17.99), 2 HD STBs and 1 HD DVR ... lots of equipment costs and taxes.
 
It depends on the studio.

HBO has deals with Warner, Universal and Fox and typically gets to air their new releases 10-15 months after the theatrical release of a film. Netflix currently has deals with DreamWorks Animation, Sony Pictures Animation and Relativity to air their new releases approximately 6-9 months after theatrical. In addition, Nexflix has a deal with Epix to air their content (from Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM) 6 weeks after it debuts on Epix, which is typcally 9 months after theatrical. Netflix also gets some, but not all, of the Weinstein Company's product, and typically can offer it 7-10 months after theatrical.

Currently, Disney and Sony new releases are available via Starz (and the Starz Play apps) approx 9-12 months after Theatrical and Showtime gets the few remaining CBS films, Dreamworks Theatrical (non animated) some of the Summit titles and the bulk of the Weinstein stuff, which is available on Showtime Anywhere. These are typically available 12-18 months after release.

Outstanding post. I had no idea about the timing from various studios and their deals with content distributors. :cool:
 
HBO is $18/month on DirecTV?


It is for me.....

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I get "basic" service free in my condo but still pay $86 to get HD and DVR service and an expanded package with HBO. I'll be knocking $18 off this. I'll make sure to buy a bunch of iTunes credit when it's on sale (usually 20% off) and that will make it $12 per month. Plus it's a lot easier to turn off iTunes subscriptions....for some reason DirecTV always makes me call when I try to drop HBO through their online account access. I'll switch it off for months when my favorite shows are off.
 
I think they're aiming solely for people who do not have HBO already with their providers. I don't watch much television so it would be pointless for me to bundle up on my basic television package just to watch HBO. Pricing here in Canada for HBO is a little steep in my opinion, 30$ plus tax on top of your bundle. I catch myself downloading HBO shows from "other sources" of the internet lol. The most viewing I do is Netflix and since I do not own an apple TV, I'm actually debating purchasing one. Perfect timing too since it dropped in price. 7.99 a month for netflix and a very affordable price for HBO Go. It might even tempt me to cut my cable as well. If anything Apple just found themselves a customer. Am I the only one who thinks Apple made the right move not this one?
 
From the FAQ

You just have to signup for HBO Now using an iTunes account and on an iOS/AppleTV device, after that you can watch through your browser--phwew! I have a computer hooked up to my TV and would not have wanted to buy a crappy Apple TV (crappy in comparison to an actual computer and other streaming devices).

HBO Now FAQ

How do I get HBO NOW℠ and access content?

You can subscribe to HBO NOW℠ using your iTunes account. Customers can access HBO NOW℠ by going to HBONOW.com, through AppleTV® or by downloading the HBO NOW℠ app in the Apple App Store®.


What devices will HBO NOW℠ be compatible with at launch?

At launch HBO NOW℠ will be available on desktop/laptop computers as well as iOS devices, including iPad®, iPhone®, iPod touch® and Apple TV®. HBO NOW℠ will roll out to additional devices soon.
 
Guess I'll be cancelling my HBO through DirecTV @ $17.99 a month. I'll bet they will be offering incentives to stay.

I'm hoping it is just HBO Go under a different name....with full access to back catalog, etc. I don't know why it wouldn't be, since HBO Go is offered free with an HBO Subscription.

1) I think it might even be $19 through Dish Network. Either way, you would not believe he number of people I saw COMPLAIN about the $14.99 price today. It's cheaper than HBO is through a cable provider, but blah blah Netflix. Go look at the movie selection on HBO vs. Netflix. HBO has many, many more new titles. Those two and Hulu Plus are all quite different, so I consider it a win.

2) I'm hoping HBO Now has a live stream like WatchESPN. Through Go you have to wait until the next day for live things like Bill Maher and John Oliver. I'm guessing this is a reason the service would be different instead of just letting people sign up for HBO Go.
 
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