HBO has bowed to the pressure of the cable-cord cutters and will release a stand-alone HBO Go service in 2015.
HBO chairman and CEO Richard Plepler made the announcement at an investor meeting for parent company Time Warner on Wednesday. The service will launch as a stand-alone over-the-top service that could "produce hundreds of millions of dollars of additional revenue." HBO may also expand the service internationally as it competes with video-streaming websites such as Netflix and Amazon Prime.
"That is a large and growing opportunity that should no longer be left untapped," Plepler said. "It is time to remove all barriers to those who want HBO."
Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes hinted last month that the company was "seriously considering" the best way to distribute HBO Go without a cable subscription. Many HBO Go users borrow their friends and family's passwords to access the service, a practice Plepler actually called "a terrific marketing vehicle."
The HBO chairman outlined three potential distribution models for the online streaming service, according to Entertainment Weekly. The first option would be to provide HBO Go through existing broadband providers (i.e. Time Warner or Comcast) without the purchase of a TV/cable plan. The second is to distribute the service through partners like Amazon, Google or Microsoft. The third would be a direct customer subscription like Netflix.
HBO only gave access to their programs through the traditional pay cable model and DVD sales until 2010 when they launched HBO Go. Earlier this year, the company began releasing some of its previous titles through Amazon Prime.
