Overview
HBO — the makers of Game of Thrones, Girls, Veep, The Newsroom, True Detective and everything else you love — have just announced they are launching a web-only streaming service in 2015. The service will be sold as a stand-alone product, meaning you won't need a cable subscription to access it. Just think: this time next year you could legally be watching Game of Thrones.
Well... sort of. Not really. Like all things excellent, access will be a little tricky for Australians. Though details are still vague, we do know that the service will only be offered to those in the US. But, just like what happened with Netflix, that premise seems unlikely to stop Australian viewers. Though blocking your location to pay for these services remains largely untested in the eyes of the law, it's thought that around 200,000 of us are using it to get our greedy little hands on the latest season of Orange Is the New Black.
Australian problems aside, this move is a huge step for the cable TV industry. Showing an understanding of our selective viewing habits that are increasingly moving online, this new service will allow people to pay for the shows they want to watch without purchasing a big expensive bundle. "[This] is a large and growing opportunity that should no longer be left untapped," said HBO CEO Richard Plepler. "It is time to remove all barriers to those who want HBO."
Using what we hope was an intended pun, he said the company was about to go "beyond the wall".
As this has only just been announced, details are scarce. We don't know yet how much the service would cost or how it would handle its programming. When the idea was discussed before by analysts, it was suggested that HBO should stagger their quality content by making shows available online six months after their original air date. Speaking for every GoT fan out there with a basic understanding of torrenting, I would like to say on the record that that's a bad idea.
Either way, it's an encouraging step in the right direction that's bound to result in a hefty debate. Hopefully it's a conversation that catches on in Australia too. Though ABC's iView and SBS On Demand are proving super handy — SBS just gave us access to a catalogue of 400 free films! — it's going to be a while until we get something as amazing as totally legal online HBO down under.
Via Recode and The Guardian.