In a move that signals much more trouble ahead for subscription cable companies, HBO revealed today that they are unveiling a new web-only streaming service in 2015. As is known to anyone who has hopelessly tried to watch HBO content online before, the television superpower currently requires an account with a larger cable provider to stream the content online via HBO GO. However, this new decision finds the Home Box Office severing ties with the past and inevitably joining Netflix and Amazon in catering towards a fastly-growing web-only customer market.
Few other details have been released regarding the logistics of the future service, but the timing of the announcement is still notable given the ongoing discussion of a merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable. News of HBO’s decision to branch off could help support the argument by Comcast that a consolidation of powers is necessary in order to survive. But don’t feel too bad for Comcast just yet (as if, right?). If the current deal goes down, they would be put in control of 35% of the broadband market in the US.
That mess aside, it appears likely that a new set of rivals has been born in the online entertainment world. With HBO in control of a slew of high-profile projects (such as the much-anticipated second season of True Detective), Netflix original programming is booming in its own right. And in turn, Netflix made an announcement today to show that they mean business: starting next year, every season of Friends will be available to stream. Could this be any more dramatic?
(via The Wall Street Journal)
