HBO and Apple in Talks for $15/Month Apple TV Streaming Service Launching in April

[whooleytoo]

I love that these premium channels are starting to go streaming for a direct cost rather than requiring cable packages. The future is starting, finally.

I'm not sure it's going to make much difference price-wise though, cutting out a middle-man doesn't guarantee lower prices, it could just mean better margins for the content creators. And certainly that's exactly what they'd want.

Yes, it's great having on-demand content rather than packages including lots of 'filler', but we'll probably end up paying more for the premium content. You want this, you need a HBO Now subscription. A Netflix-exclusive show? You need a Netflix subscription too. The more things change..

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

This is good for everyone for another reason that I don't think anyone has mentioned yet:

This gives cable providers competition which means they're forced to either somehow improve what they're offering, or lower the price on what they're offering, or both (or they can lose their customers - I suppose that's an option, too.)

Thus far cable providers don't really have competition because most of their customers live within regional monopolies. IE, my options for TV are: Comcast. End of list. I can't even get Dish (no place to put a dish to receive with.)

If I'm only paying for cable because I want HBO, then I'll stop paying for cable from Comcast and swap to HBO Go. Other channels will see what HBO is doing and go the same route. Particularly other premium channels.

 

[outphase]

HBO GO is abysmal... hope HBO NOW proves to be all encompassing... seriously, i've tapped everything decent to watch on GO, and it took me all of about a month.

and if they continue to take a full day or two to upload a recent ep of a show, they've certainly not gained me as a customer. the internet usually has that stuff up in less than the length of the broadcast.

I'm not sure what you're doing, but I've watched new episodes of Game of Thrones concurrently with their broadcast airtime.

 

[kukheart]

$15 a month = sold for me. To have the entire back HBO catalog too. I cut the cable 3 years ago and it has been great, only downfall is not watching sporting events, but I do have an over the air antenna to get local stations for free.

 

[A MacBook lover]

$15 a month for one channel? That could sure add up in a hurry.

Just use a friends HBO login info.

Or better yet, use a friends cable account to get virtually every stream app on Apple TV.

I only pay for Netflix and Hulu.
HBO, Showtime, ESPN, FX, and all the other streams are free.

 

[Daws001]

I'm glad they're taking this step but $15 does seem steep. Especially if you have Amazon Prime which gives you access to a bunch of HBO's shows.

 

[co.ag.2005]

So instead of one bill to my cable company I'll have multiple bills to different content providers? Or is all of this going to get billed through iTunes? I don't think we'll ever get to complete nirvana which would be okay cable company let me pick the channels I want and quote me a total price for them. I don't want to pay $15 for HBO, $8 for Netflix, $7 for Hulu, etc. Talk about not user friendly.

this..

looking at it now, in order to cut my Charter cable package, I would need:
sling.com - $20/month (to get ESPN/ESPN2 (do I still get access to WatchESPN for SEC network?))
netflix - $8 (probably don't need)
hulu - $7 (use in place of antenna? not for everything)
HBO Go - $15
Antenna - "free" (I have the HD antenna, but I would have to put it on one side of the house, string the coax to the other side of the house where my TV is... oh, and figure out a DVR solution... TIVO? $$$$; cloud DVR options? buy a computer to be a media center?

but, we're getting close. my internet package (60Mbps down) without cable would be about ~$40/month. I pay a little extra now for my cable package compared to the above list. Buy my cable package includes a DVR, 2nd receiver in the bedroom and access to HBO/Showtime/Cinemax and all the sports channels I need.

I'd like to cut the cord, but all the "a la carte" options aren't quite adding up yet for me. Plus, once they do, I might be looking at the same total price (including internet access cost).

 

[handsome pete]

I think once they all crumble you'll eventually get more a la carte.

Only the beginning.

True a la carte will never happen, and it's not really in the consumer interest for it either. The problem is that everyone has different tastes in channels/programming. So all of the crap you don't like is something someone else likes, and vice versa. The cable system is a mess, but simply opening it up to a pick and choose buffet would be a bigger mess. Right now, channels are bundled in order to actually offer more for less. Much like how insurance plans work. There are features in those plans that you'll likely never need or want, but by being able to pool more people under a certain plan, then you can keep costs down versus offering a customized "concierge" service to each individual. True a la carte could also end up being prohibitively more expensive in the long run with even less content available.

It's definitely an interesting time in seeing the TV industry change, especially as the concepts of TV and internet are converging. However that change is happening slowly, but it is a fairly complex system.

HBO GO is abysmal... hope HBO NOW proves to be all encompassing... seriously, i've tapped everything decent to watch on GO, and it took me all of about a month.

and if they continue to take a full day or two to upload a recent ep of a show, they've certainly not gained me as a customer. the internet usually has that stuff up in less than the length of the broadcast.

Christ, you can't wait 24 hours?

 

[Jimmy James]

Too expensive but a great step in the right direction. Time based advertised TV has been dead to me for more than 10 years.

 

[reckless2k2]

$10 a month

I'm a Comcast customer and HBO costs me $10 a month.

I'm wondering why the additional $5. So Apple or HBO make more money?

 

[CausticPuppy]

$15 a month for one channel? That could sure add up in a hurry.

Not a channel, an on-demand content library.

 

[CausticPuppy]

I'm a Comcast customer and HBO costs me $10 a month.

If HBO is the only thing you care about watching on your TV, it's not just the $10, it's the $10 plus whatever you're paying for your cable TV package.

The $15 per month is for folks who don't have any cable TV subscription to begin with.

 

[nuckinfutz]

Game

of

Thrones

 

[LordVic]

I'm not sure it's going to make much difference price-wise though, cutting out a middle-man doesn't guarantee lower prices, it could just mean better margins for the content creators. And certainly that's exactly what they'd want.

Yes, it's great having on-demand content rather than packages including lots of 'filler', but we'll probably end up paying more for the premium content. You want this, you need a HBO Now subscription. A Netflix-exclusive show? You need a Netflix subscription too. The more things change..

its going to be an interesting choice.

For example: i priced out MY particular wants and desires for TV if I cut the cable and went streaming. the cost was far less than the current cable package I have that includes hundreds of channels I never touch.

I just can't cancel... my roommate is a reality tv junky and watches food network and the like nearly 24/7

not sure why the fudge I'm paying 50% of the damn bill when I never watch cable (haven't even plugged the cable box into my tv)

 

[D.T.]

What other "channel" has a lineup that includes the likes of Bill Maher, John Oliver, Game of Thrones, Silicon Valley, The Leftovers, and Getting On?

The only other channels that contain anything I consider worth watching are FX, Fox, Comedy Central, PBS, and a single show on Showtime.

If $15 is HBO's "bundled" price what makes you think they're going to offer it a la carte for less?

Sounds almost exactly like our viewing habits! We CTC about a 45 days ago, and most of the original programming we watch is on HBO, FX, Fox. Hoping to get NBC sorted out for the return of Hannibal

HBO we're the same, GOT, Silicon Valley (cannot wait for that to restart), Leftovers plus True Detective.

AMC seems to be the holdout, but that's just one show for now, so we're just scoring it EP-by-EP via iTunes.

 

[TsMkLg068426]

So what happens to HBO subscribers? HBO better let HBO subscribers access or this is dumb. Hey Charter Communications when are you guys going to give customers access on Apple TV? Oh wait Charter tells me it is Apples fault.

 

[bpeeps]

Too bad cutting the cord on FiOS doesn't really save you much when you still need internet service. It was about a $10 per month savings when I called to cancel TV service not too long ago.....

When I cancelled cable, my bill dropped from $90 to $30 for internet alone.

That's sort of like calling Netflix a channel. Or Hulu Plus a channel. Or Amazon Prime a channel.

Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Prime all operate on a different business model than HBO GO. Not really a true comparison.

More is not the same as better. Most of Netflix's content sucks.

HBO GO has 5 - 10 great movies from the past 5 years featured on their front page every 2 months. So it seems like they have great, current movies. But after you get past that and browse the actual selection, it's the same stuff Netflix has. Older 80's and 90's movies.

While Netflix vastly beats HBO GO in their selection of television shows, programming for kids, documentaries (yes I watch documentaries). Netflix movies might be lacking in what they offer, but there's still usually something I can find to watch in there. That $15 a month is more for their original TV shows and not for their monthly movie packages. At this point, Netflix is still a better deal.

I was hoping HBO would be $10 a month. I could stomach that.

 

[D.T.]

this..

looking at it now, in order to cut my Charter cable package, I would need:
sling.com - $20/month (to get ESPN/ESPN2 (do I still get access to WatchESPN for SEC network?))
netflix - $8 (probably don't need)
hulu - $7 (use in place of antenna? not for everything)
HBO Go - $15
Antenna - "free" (I have the HD antenna, but I would have to put it on one side of the house, string the coax to the other side of the house where my TV is... oh, and figure out a DVR solution... TIVO? $$$$; cloud DVR options? buy a computer to be a media center?

but, we're getting close. my internet package (60Mbps down) without cable would be about ~$40/month. I pay a little extra now for my cable package compared to the above list. Buy my cable package includes a DVR, 2nd receiver in the bedroom and access to HBO/Showtime/Cinemax and all the sports channels I need.

I'd like to cut the cord, but all the "a la carte" options aren't quite adding up yet for me. Plus, once they do, I might be looking at the same total price (including internet access cost).

After we CTC, our habits actually changed a bit, we're really focused on the 10-12 shows we watch (that are split across different parts of the year, or we're watching complete series via Netflix), and all the incidental "let's turn on the TV and _hunt_ for something to watch" kind of disappeared.

Actually feels pretty good.

 

[rdlink]

After we CTC, our habits actually changed a bit, we're really focused on the 10-12 shows we watch (that are split across different parts of the year, or we're watching complete series via Netflix), and all the incidental "let's turn on the TV and _hunt_ for something to watch" kind of disappeared.

Actually feels pretty good.

And you found out there is an outside...

 

[ctdonath]

Why wasn't it implemented 5 years ago?

Because trainloads of cash are at stake. Those facing loss of BILLIONS of dollars are highly motivated to cause delays in the transition however possible.

 

[Luisbracero]

$15 a month for one channel? That could sure add up in a hurry.

Would me more like a compilation of what they have, where you can choose what to watch unlike any channel.

 

[D.T.]

And you found out there is an outside...

I became aware of it, but I haven't ventured out into it yet ... still a little scared.

 

[LordVic]

And why is this still in talks? Why wasn't it implemented 5 years ago? The media companies would have way more of my money if they would just offer a TV over LTE on my mobile device.

TV music and movies, all are archaicly slow to adapt to new technologies. They had a very succesful and very profitable business model for decades going into the internet generation, one of which they tried desperately, clawing, scraping to avoid.

cable and content delivery networks are terrified that if these online a-la-cart optiosn becoe more and more prevelant, they'll also become cheaper overall for the end consumer. No more mandatory minimum bundles for dozens of channels just so you can get the ONE you want. it removed the power from the cable companies who were in close relationships with HBO and TMN.

 

[mw360]

You seem to have a fundamental misunderstanding of cable companies' business model. They make their money through bundling and by forcing you to receive channels you don't want (for which other companies pay them.)

No they don't. They make their money by unbundling - by making sure the few channels you actually do want are spread across the maximum number of package options.

Those junk channels - you aren't paying for them. You never have been paying for them. That's why a la carte pricing is going to be a shock.

 

[Command]

No commercial service for years, only AppleTV with Netflix, Hulu+ and Plex. I would really love to see HBO come onboard in this way but I have to agree with many here, despite what they may charge coupled with cable services, it's not really worth $15/mo in my opinion. Not when pretty much everything else in the league is <$10. It's not just 'one channel' but it's still just a select group of movies and shows, not entirely different than the aforementioned services that run at $8 - $10.
My bottom line is that if it's $10 or less, I'm onboard. Otherwise, I hope everyone else enjoys it.