Pay TV Ops Drop HBO's Price; HBO Go the Reason?
By Phillip Swann
TVPredictions.com
http://www.tvpredictions.com/hbo012815.htm
Washington, D.C. (January 28, 2015) - Several pay TV operators have
lowered their price on a monthly subscription to HBO, a possible
strategy to combat HBO's upcoming standalone streaming service.
HBO announced last October that it would launch a national,
Internet-only service for its On Demand programming sometime in 2015. An
internal company memo obtained by Fortune Magazine suggests the launch
will come in April.
HBO has yet to reveal pricing details for the standalone streaming
service, which will not require a pay TV subscription. But most analysts
believe it will be around $15 a month, and it will likely be called HBO
Go, the current name for the On Demand service that requires a pay TV sub.
Pay TV executives have expressed concern that the standalone HBO Go
could lead to subscriber defections. If HBO fans don't need to subscribe
to pay TV to watch HBO's programming, the thinking goes, they might opt
to save money by dropping their cable or satellite service and signing
up for a $15 a month version of the premium channel.
Perhaps looking to lock up HBO viewers before the new HBO GO is
launched, Comcast this month lowered its standard HBO monthly sub rate
from $18.95 to $15. (The new rate was published in a letter sent to
Comcast subscribers this month. TVPredictions.com obtained a copy of the
letter.) In addition, if you order online, you can now get HBO from
Comcast for just $10 a month.
But the nation's largest cable operator isn't the only pay TV service
that seems anxious to boost HBO subs now.
Verizon is offering HBO for just $9.99 a month for the first 12 months.
The telco previously priced HBO at $9.99 a month for the first six
months. (Verizon's normal price for HBO after any promotional period is
$19.99 a month.)
Time Warner Cable, which previously charged $15.95 a month for HBO, is
now offering the premium channel for just $9.99 a month if you order online.
And Cox Communications is now selling HBO for $10 a month for the first
six months. The price increases to $15.99 a month after the promotional
period.
AT&T is selling a bundle of Internet, basic TV service, Amazon Prime and
HBO for $39 a month for the first 12 months. The offer is online only.
The satcasters, Dish and DIRECTV, have not changed their HBO pricing, at
least not yet, charging $19 a month and $17.99 a month respectively. But
it will be interesting to see if they change their tune before the new
HBO Go launches.
Also worth noting: Comcast has dropped the standard monthly price on
Showtime and Starz from $16.95 to $12. Both Showtime and Starz have said
they are contemplating launching similar standalone streaming services.
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