What do you do if you're the head of HBO and one of your highest rated shows becomes the most pirated TV series on the Internet? We would figure out an easy way for people those same people to leagally watch the shows they're obviously into.
HBO CEO, Richard Plepler may do just that. In a recent interview with Reuters, Plepler said that the company’s streaming service HBO GO could be making a switch to broaden it’s availability to viewers without cable subscriptions.
HBO GO, the station's app that allows peopel to watch shows and movies on their tablet or smartphone, is currently only offered to cable subscribers who pay an additional fee for HBO.
However, the company is reportedly considering granting access to the streaming service to those who pay for broadband Internet by charging them a monthly fee. With this change HBO could directly compete with companies such as Netflix and Hulu.
A major problem facing HBO is the damage such a move would inflict to its relationship with the cable providors that distribute its content and lace it with lucrative subscription fees. But since most big name cable providers—Time Warner, Comcast, Verizon FIOS, etc—also offer Internet access, HBO may be able to "make the math work," as Pleper said.
[via Reuters]
