HBO announced that it will launch a standalone streaming service in the U.S. as early as next year.
HBO, the television network is planning to launch a standalone streaming service in the U.S. HBO chief executive and Chairman Richard Plepler confirmed the company's plans Wednesday at a Time Warner investor meeting, noting that the new service will be available to consumers as early as next year.
According to Plepler, nearly 10 million U.S. homes have high-speed broadband and none pay for TV service, Re/Code reported. Eliminating the requirement for a pay-TV subscription will attract more subscribers on its network.
"That is a large and growing opportunity that should no longer be left untapped. It is time to remove all barriers to those who want HBO," Plepler said in a press statement, Wednesday. "So, in 2015, we will launch a stand-alone, over-the-top, HBO service in the United States. We will work with our current partners. And, we will explore models with new partners. All in, there are 80 million homes that do not have HBO and we will use all means at our disposal to go after them."
HBO already has a secure user-base of nearly 30 million U.S. subscribers and has managed to generate $4.9 billion in revenue last year. The company has been making several moves like partnering with Amazon to make select content available to Amazon Instant Video subscribers, to extend its reach in the entertainment sector. The current way of subscribing the channel is by purchasing a bundle of TV networks from pay-TV providers like Comcast.
Analysts see this as a critical step in the wrong direction for the rest of the industry as it mainly relies on channels like HBO and ESPN to attract subscribers to take bundle packages. Forrester analyst James McQuivey says the pay-TV industry has feared such a move for several years but until the pricing models are released, it is hard to conclude on the possible impact, AP reported.
