HBO Now's Apple Exclusive Ensures The 'Most Pirated Show On TV' Stays That Way
from the great-Apple-wall-of-the-north dept
For years now, customers have been begging HBO to offer a standalone streaming service. Instead, customers got HBO Go, a streaming service only accessible if you can prove you have traditional cable. HBO Go is part of the cable and broadcast industry's "TV Everywhere" initiative -- or the industry's misguided belief that you can thwart cord cutting by building giant walled gardens firmly tethered to traditional cable. Of course this does nothing to actually thwart cord cutting, and only drives customers unwilling to pay cable's endlessly-soaring rates to piracy.For many years, HBO was hesitant to offer a truly stand alone streaming service, fearing disruption of the cozy, promotion and subsidy-laden relationships it has with cable operators. Late last year HBO finally announced it would offer a standalone HBO service, but didn't provide any hard details.
The good news? HBO has formally announced that it's launching "HBO Now" next month for a $15 monthly fee. The bad news (for some)? The service is going to be an Apple exclusive at launch, meaning that while you can access the service via iOS devices, you're out of luck if you'd like to use the service on a game console, Roku player, Chromecast, or any of the myriad other competing streaming devices. And while you will be able to watch HBO Now content via the new website and any old browser, you can apparently only register for the service using Apple's HBO Now app and an iOS device.
This resulted in many people correctly noting customers are being herded from one walled garden to another:
HBO used to be cable only, now it's cable and Apple exclusive. Is that really an improvement? http://t.co/ExSUMumDPg pic.twitter.com/1NKqrtV7Ei
— Richard Lawler (@rjcc) March 9, 2015
The press release can't be bothered to mention this, but the exclusive is only for three months, after which HBO Now will be made available on all the usual platforms. Cable providers may also jump in and pitch the service, though many will likely worry they'll only act to cannibalize existing cable subscribers. In other words, we're not exactly talking about the end of the world here, and HBO Now is still part of a welcome sea change toward more standalone streaming options in 2015. If you're still annoyed, just pretend Apple users are beta-testing the service and ironing out the wrinkles ahead of your arrival this summer.
Still, while the exclusive surely nets Apple a nice cash payout, being greeted by a giant wall isn't a great first HBO Now brand impression for Android, Xbox, Playstation, Chromecast or Roku users. Being greeted by that same giant wall also isn't going to do much to keep the "most pirated TV show on television" from being downloaded via BitTorrent. HBO Now's still a welcome change, it's just a shame its market entry has to be polluted by unnecessary, annoying boundaries just to fatten Apple's wallet.
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Filed Under: availability, convenience, exclusives, hbo, hbo go
Companies: apple, hbo
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african cupcakes
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Browsers and DRM?
The whole current video industry reeks of lock-in in one way or another. Only truly DRM-free solutions are not tying the user to a set of "approved" devices, systems and applications. And getting video DRM-free is close to impossible (Headweb doesn't count since it's not global).
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Re: Browsers and DRM?
HTML5 Video has a DRM spec; which somehow runs off Adobe software that isn't Flash.
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You need a distro that has NSS libraries installed and a browser that supports encrypted media extensions.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encrypted_Media_Extensions
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Re: Re: Re: Browsers and DRM?
So I don't see why there should be any technical DRM reason for locking out Linux.
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Re: Browsers and DRM?
That is all...
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Re: Re: Browsers and DRM?
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Still doesn't have much relevance for me.
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Re:
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Roundly trounced?
Plus, Netflix + Hulu Plus + HBO Now + AirPlay will be compelling enough for plenty of people over the next 3 months. (Might be a different case come the holidays, though.)
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This also has no effect on HBOGo which still works on all those devices if you're a cable subscriber with HBO service or someone you know gave you their log in credentials to get free service.
HBONow works with a Web browser, I don't know if that means you could access it on Android on Chrome and then Chromecast it to your HDTV that way??? I do think this is a way to not get a flood of new people all at once. Or having to resort to a beta type service to limit the amount of people
Hell I have Apple TV's, ROKU's, Even a Amazon Fire Stick, not to mention all my many game Consoles. Seems I have a zillion streaming devices.
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HBONow works with a Web browser, I don't know if that means you could access it on Android on Chrome and then Chromecast it to your HDTV that way???
I am wondering that too.
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Bread and Circuses
It's not a life essential thing ya know.
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Re: Bread and Circuses
You people are the world's dorks and you know it- you wouldn't dare fall further behind by not staying up to date with culture.
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Television Machines
I stopped watching The Daily Show regularly years ago. I may watch the occasional youtube reference or This Week Tonight clip, but only when directedmby friends or blogs. Otherwise I read and play games for entertainment.
And given one of the topics that is covered here on TechDirt is the rising rate of cable cutters (among those who are not forced into a bundle by a Comcast monopoly), I suspect not all of those are Netflix junkies.
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Re: Bread and Circuses
Almost nothing discussed on this site is essential to life. If that's what you're looking for, you are in the wrong place.
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This is not bluster
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Say what?
I'd definitely recommend waiting for other providers to offer this at a hugely discounted rate.
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Re: Say what?
Doubtless they would love to get $180/year from people, but that's not how streaming works. What will probably happen is people will pay $15-30, binge on whatever they want to see, then let it drop for several months until they want to binge again, if ever. Instead of roping people into a repeated payment that they don't think about (like Netflix), they've priced themselves up enough that a lot of their potential repeat customers will become occasional customers.
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Re: Say what?
I get what you're saying in comparison to Netflix which is a great deal. I really think it doesn't make sense to pay for HBO every month unless you always have the channel on. If there's only one or two shows yo watch, it's cheaper to buy a season pass to stream or get on Disc later. I don't have a problem watching a show 6 months later. it's still NEW to me, does it really make much difference?
$180 for a year, or a couple season Passes or season discs which would be under $100. you know being a cable cutter I'm a huge fan of 'The Walking Dead' on AMC. I get Season passes from Amazon. The SD version, not HD, which is reasonable and still looks great and you can watch Monday after the new episode plays Sunday night. A day later and commercial free at watch when you want to.
Most of my TV I get for free from the Antenna. If you wait a little longer, you'll find HBO programs on Amazon PRIME!!!
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Re: Re: Say what?
AND their ads are
1. a LOT of crappy PSAs, and exxon feelgood propaganda, SOS different day...
2. i guess they just put them on a timer, because 'normal' teevee *at least* (not saying much) puts ads in natural breaks in the shows (or, rather, the shows are staged for those 'natural' breaks); prime just plops them in any old where... messed up a documentary interview i was watching the other day...
3. *AND* watching the stupid tail-chasing animation while the ad loads, and then the show reloads, is annoying...
i give prime 3 mehs...
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Re: Re: Re: Say what?
I was a prime subscriber when Amazon Prime Video arrived, have watched a bunch of stuff like series, films and documentaries, and never seen an ad. Like to give an example?
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Say what?
um, not sure how i can 'prove' that, without taking screenshots, whatever... so either i was lucidly hallucinating (which has never happened before, so i'm dismissing that), or they were showing commercials...
hell, that's half the reason i hate going to freaking movie theaters, the damn commercials, and the endless previews...
show me a cartoon or two, then start the movie... THAT is the way dog almighty intended movies to be shown...
(oh, and have the ushers do summary executions of people who leave their cellyphones on in the movies...)
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Re: Say what?
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Re: Say what?
It depends what direction you look at it from. For someone who currently has nothing, $15 may not be that attractive. For someone currently paying $100/month or more for cable or satellite plus HBO, $15/month sounds fantastic.
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Still a good thing
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90 days
http://www.engadget.com/2015/03/09/hbo-now-strings/
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Re: 90 days
There really isn't a story here. Apple gave HBO some money for a temporary exclusive. The money from Apple is more than the money they would get otherwise, so it's a smart business decision.
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It is infringement, but whether it's right or wrong is a different question.
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Worldwide
http://hbob2b.vo.llnwd.net/u/mr_twitter/March2015/gameofthrones15simulcast_.pdf
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In his 1983 Apple keynote address, Steve Jobs read the following story before showcasing a preview of the commercial:
"[...] It is now 1984. It appears IBM wants it all. Apple is perceived to be the only hope to offer IBM a run for its money. Dealers initially welcoming IBM with open arms now fear an IBM dominated and controlled future. They are increasingly turning back to Apple as the only force that can ensure their future freedom. IBM wants it all and is aiming its guns on its last obstacle to industry control: Apple. Will Big Blue dominate the entire computer industry? The entire information age? Was George Orwell right about 1984?"
Yeah, good job protecting that ideal there, Steve. At least the dystopic, industrial horror of the workers, you off-shored to China.
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Three words: marketing, target, age
What is missing:
NO Cinemax - OMG Banshee and Strike Back are orphans.
Disclaimer: I buy Comcast internet and cable TV. Two big screens attached to HD DVRs. I have all the premium packages, 1000 channels of stuff.
Sports not so much.
Online Xfinity is probably what Apple iThingy users wish they get via iTunes - NOPE.
I will say now that the Apple HBO deal will have content restrictions that make sure HBO via cable operators is unchanged - the short, Apple gets subset and windowing of start and expire dates on content will favor cable.
I could be worng[sic].
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Citation needed.
I think apple paid hbo.
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Re:
boy, apple isn't the brightest bulb.
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Last I checked the GoT producers LIKED being "most pirated show evar"
If I were to suppose in Socratic tradition that the HBO marketing / bean-counting folk weren't entirely dim, they might regard the Game of Thrones high-piracy status as a good thing, an indicator that they, themselves, can point to about the quality of their product. So good it will turn you dishonest! or somesuch.
Looked at this way, it's a good example of Masnick's content is advertising notion. Or Here, kid, the first one's free.
Again, that was supposing that HBO distribution knew what it was doing.
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Not entirely sure I buy this argument.
Yes, people who just want to watch Game of Thrones and either refuse to pay or don't want to watch any other HBO shows will continue seeding torrents. That's not going away.
But...
1.) Apple TV has already sold 25 million Apple TV units to date, and based loosely on the sales figures listed on Wikipedia, more than half those units appear to be the 3rd-generation model, which has not been jailbroken. That's a pretty big installed base, and lowering the price on Apple TV ensures that base will grow. (It's a blatant supply chain-emptying move by Tim Cook, yes, but most potential buyers won't care that much.)
2.) Having more than one set-top box connected to a TV isn't so far-fetched these days. I have both an Apple TV and a Roku 3. They do have some different uses -- the Roku has Amazon Prime, Sling TV, and DIAL streaming, while the Apple TV has a superior podcast interface and AirPlay for certain iPad apps I like to use. I used to have a Chromecast as well. Given how cheap all these STBs and streaming sticks are now, it's not so odd for cord-cutters to buy and use more than one.
3.) HBO Now's value proposal goes beyond GoT. Think of all those other HBO series and movies that people might not have seen yet -- The Wire, True Detective, Veep, Treme, Boardwalk Empire, etc. That's a lot of binge-watching for not that much money. Sure, you can pirate all of them, but for $15/month, you can stream the whole kit and caboodle and not have to look at those soul-sucking porn ads. (Or maybe I'm the only guy who's grown weary of computer-animated tits. You tell me.) Netflix streaming traffic overtook torrent traffic FOUR YEARS AGO. That proved people will pay for convenience. This is what HBO Now is offering, and it *will* be compelling to many who only use torrents because HBO hadn't otherwise made it convenient. Does Apple exclusivity lessen that convenience for a few months? Sure, but the installed Apple TV base and the relatively low cost of entry *will* attract customers.
4.) This is a long play for HBO, and for its parent company, Time Warner, which licensed its Turner Broadcasting channels to Sling TV. By Labor Day, *all* those channels will be available on a *lot* of STBs and streaming sticks. Apple exclusivity is just a temporary move to help keep Comcast off its back for a while.
Also, apropos of nothing:
5.) At least one market research group (Parks Associates) has predicted that as many as 7 million people will get rid of cable TV once HBO Now becomes available. I don't think it will be quite that high all at once, but let's revisit that figure a year from now and see how close they got.
6.) None of this takes into account HBO Go password-sharing, which is also likely to rise with the premier of GoT season 5 -- especially if cable companies still try to offer customers 3 months of free HBO. That might already be putting a dent in piracy without anyone examining it too closely. It's certainly a reason why HBO Now exists in any form. If the market wasn't there, HBO wouldn't bother.
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$15 a month is already expensive for someone only interested in Games of Thrones and nothing else. Allowing those people without Apple products in only right before the season ends guarantees those people will wait until Season 6 to sign up. I mean why sign up for just 1 month only to cancel it right away? That's too much hassle.
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And it's only a hassle to sign up and then cancel if you're dealing with a cable company. It wasn't nearly as bad when I did it with DishWorld and Hulu Plus.
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As I read it you will be dealing with a cable company or ISP if you're not using an Apple device. The 'web access' that is mentioned on HBOnow.com will only be available through 'channel partners', ie HBO is not interested in dealing with users and their credit cards directly. So we don't yet know whether Comcast/Verizon etc will ever agree a deal and if so whether a monthly no-contract deal will be available and at what price (HBO clearly said they haven't set the price yet but that it could be different for each partner). So, a newly discounted Apple TV (for those who have no Apple currently, like me) might turn out to be a cheaper deal than via other yet-to-be-announced 'partners' - we just don't know yet.
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Huge Rabbit Hole
It will still be the #1 torrented video. Here's why:
1. No bullshit
You need more reasons? That right there covers DRM, restricted app, must-buy-apple, must-suck-up-to-cable-company and whatever.
No bullshit.
I'm truly sorry HBO missed the boat on this one big time and this is leading TO ALL THESE FASCINATING LONG-WINDED DEBATES that are nothing more than rabbit holes.
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Executive CentiPad In the boardroom.
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Re: Executive CentiPad In the boardroom.
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$15?
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Penniless, since it won't get my money.
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FTFY, YW. ;)
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itunecodegenerator.blogspot.com
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