Over a year after saying it might happen, HBO chairman and CEO Richard Plepler announced that the Time Warner company will finally offer HBO GO as a stand-alone streaming service starting next year.
This would mean fans of Game of Thrones wouldn’t have to subscribe to the traditional pay-TV service in order to gain access to their favorite show.
Plepler made the comments at Time Warner’s shareholders meeting today. According to Buzzfeed, he noted that there are 10 million broadband-only homes in the country that do not subscribe to HBO. Plepler called this a “large and growing opportunity that should no longer be left untapped.”
A stand-alone HBO GO service available has the “potential to produce hundreds of millions of dollars in additional revenue,” he said. The service will be available starting next year.
While this sounds like a good idea to consumers, the satellite and cable providers who often use access to HBO has a promotional tool to reel in subscribers might be more apprehensive about it. But Plepler did say that they aren’t exactly happy with the way some of their “partners” are handling distribution, so it doesn’t sound like he minds burning a few bridges.
“Some of our partners are doing a great job marketing HBO, others not so much,” Plepler told shareholders. “We have been far too reliant on our operators to market HBO.”
Plepler first suggested that HBO GO might be available as a stand-alone service eventually back in March 2013. The move could be a big help to cut down on piracy, which has been a constant issue with Game of Thrones especially. Of course, there will always be people trying to work their way around paying for anything, but even a service that could slightly cut down on piracy will work in HBO’s favor.