HBO has announced its new standalone service dubbed ‘HBO Now’ will be available for subscription beginning April for $14.99 (£9.90) a month, right in time for the latest season of “Game of Thrones.”
According to HBO, the new service will allow subscribers to stream content over the internet without having to pay for cable TV. They will be able to stream all “past, present and future” content from HBO through this service, on-demand.
HBO Now will offer more than 2,000 titles online including current series such as “True Detective,” “Silicon Valley,” “Girls,” “Veep” and “The Leftovers,” as well as past series such as “The Sopranos,” “Sex and the City,” “True Blood,” “The Wire” and “Deadwood. In addition, upcoming programs will be made available as they air on HBO.
Apple has reportedly bought exclusive rights to deliver the new service to its own platform as part of a 3-month deal with HBO. This means the HBO now service will initially be available through a new channel on Apple TV and on Phones and iPads before moving on to other platforms. The first month is free for early adopters.
“HBO NOW is the next phase of innovation at HBO,” HBO chairman and CEO Richard Plepler said in a statement.
“With this new partnership, a natural evolution for the network, we have access to millions of Apple customers who are used to getting their favorite apps immediately. Now, they can do the same with an HBO subscription.”
Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, said “HBO NOW offers a new generation of HBO fans many of the best TV programs in the world without a cable or satellite subscription.”
“Now, with the same simplicity as buying an app, customers can subscribe to HBO NOW and instantly start viewing their favorite HBO programs as they air – this is huge.”
HBO is in discussion with other distributors and digital partners as well to offer HBO NOW on other platforms.
HBO Now is currently restricted to U.S. residents only. It is still unclear if the cable giant will roll out the service to other countries including UK.
