HBO has confirmed that it is trying to develop a way to deliver its TV Everywhere service to the recently announced media streaming service from Google, the Chormecast.
"We are actively exploring supporting Chromecast as another way for our subscribers to enjoy HBO GO, but at this point we can't comment on specific plans regarding timing," a spokesperson for HBO said in a statement e-mailed to MultiChannel.
The Chromecast is priced at $35 and offers a low-cost solution for people who want to stream video, music and more to their television screen from their mobile device. Announced at a press event held by Google last week, the device is "dongle-sized" and plugs directly into a TV's HDMI port. Once set up, users can give the Chromecast commands to, for example, play a Netflix video by sending it to the cloud and having the device stream it from there. What this means is the mobile device doesn't necessarily need to be on Netflix or even be powered on in order for the video to play.
While the Chromecast has massive potential, getting HBO would be a huge feather in its cap as many app developers are scrambling to get content onto the device, which has seen preorder sales sell out almost immediately. HBO's apps for iOS and Android would work on the Chromecast if it finds a way to adapt them. It has conducted similar adaptation projects with the Roku, Apple TV, Samsung connected TV and the Xbox 360, so it isn't unreasonable to assume Chromecast and HBO users will have something to look forward to in the very near future.
HBO joins the ranks of Vimeo, Revision3 and Redbox Instant by Verizon in app makers who are interested in optimizing their streaming media apps for use with the Chromecast device. Currently Youtube, Netflix and Pandora already have apps that work with the Chromecast.
