Don't let the cheap Comcast HBO deal fool you, cord- cutters. HBO. . HBO Go - - with its deep, constantly refreshing online library of hit shows and movies on demand - - is the cord- cutter's dream, but don't get too excited about a new Comcast pay- television package that offers HBO on the cheap. Though it looks like progress toward breaking out HBO, it's a big leap from here to getting HBO Go on its own. And Time Warner, HBO's owner, has signaled it's a leap it has little interest in making. Thursday, news bubbled up from DSL Reports that Comcast, the biggest cable company in the country by subscribers, was promoting a bundle of services that included HBO with local and basic television channels and broadband service, cheaper than a more comprehensive "double- play" package would cost.
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- An online promotion for Comcast's Internet Plus package. Screenshot by Joan E. Solsman/CNET Comcast is targeting people.
- Source: Facebook user HBO. Finally, our days of freeloading are over. HBO — the magical network that airs Game of Thrones, Girls, and many, many more of our.
A Comcast spokeswoman said the offer is nationwide, though the specifics seemed to vary by region: In New York, it's promoted online for $4. An online promotion for Comcast's Internet Plus package. Screenshot by Joan E. Headset Gamer 7.1. Solsman/CNET. . Comcast is targeting people who are already looking for Internet services and then using HBO as a lure to turn them into two- product customers, or "double play.". A study presented by JP Morgan analysts this week found, like many polls before, that cord- cutting households are still in the minority but a large proportion are on the fence.
It found that 7 percent of TV watchers age 1. TV service. Ten percent were cord- cutters. A full 4. 0 percent were what they termed "cord considerers," people who subscribe to pay TV and are somewhat or extremely likely to cancel. For Comcast, HBO is an enticing lure for the group on the fence. Its series routinely garner more Emmy nominations than any other channel, and HBO has been a vanguard of "TV Everywhere," the television industry's initiative to bring more content to Internet- based platforms and mobile devices to people who pay for TV. HBO has been among the most willing of channels to embrace multiple platforms and offer up large amounts of content online.
Part of the reason HBO is so welcoming is that it has a large moat around its content online. It lowers the drawbridge only to people paying for it, and those people are usually paying a higher- end TV subscription. The network's HBO Go app and Web portal provide unlimited access to movies and shows - - both current and past - - on demand, but access is limited to people who already have a pay- TV subscription including HBO through a distributor like a cable company or satellite provider. That makes shows like "Game of Thrones" tantalizingly close for people who enjoy watching TV online or on their devices, but puts the content still out of reach for those who have already cut or want to cut the cable company out of the equation.
But Comcast's offer this week tweaks the norm. This is the first time that Comcast is offering HBO as part of a lower- cost package. The company previously has offered bundles that provide broadband services plus an economy television subscription that - - largely because it lacks live sports channels - - is cheaper than more complete packages, but HBO is new. And while this could make HBO more palatable to some people fed up with pricey cable bills, it isn't much of a signal that HBO Go is any closer to being offered directly to consumers. For one, Comcast is a cable company, and cable companies are holding formation against becoming purveyors of Internet- delivered TV service.
Source: Red Ball
