Just when we were getting excited about a standalone streaming service from HBO — like HBO Go, except without paying for a cable subscription — HBO now says it was just kidding and won't cut that cord... ever.
Because Harvard is paying for a service called Tivli, the Ivy Leaguers can burn through HBO's Girls, Game of Thrones, and a bunch of other cable TV content for free. Unfortunately, the ultimate student streaming model doesn't sound like it's built for the rest of us.
So, Apple's big plan to talk cable companies into making the iPod of the television industry thus far involves getting Time Warner to let it put HBO Go on its box (if you buy a cable subscription!), something other similar boxes already do. How very unexciting.
HBO, the content provider that has said many times that it has no interest in offering HBO Go as a standalone service, will now offer its content through a standalone streaming service. Don't get too excited: This isn't happening here in the good ole U.S.A but rather in Norway, Finland and Denmark.
Hulu is contemplating some changes to its service, according to what has been described as a "death memo" that will "completely screw up Hulu" obtained by Variety's Andrew Wallenstein.
Time Warner will never offer HBO Go as a standalone streaming service because it's not what the people want, says CEO Jeff Bewkes, asking us to look at the data, which he claims proves there aren't that many cord-cutters.
HBO Go will now be available on yet another tablet, the Kindle Fire, and it is just one more incremental move for HBO as it re-establishes itself as television’s most relevant programming brand.
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