HBO announces a new market with HBO Nordic and a long-awaited standalone subscription

HBO announced that it will launch a new service called HBO Nordic that will bring its shows to Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland. The linear and on-demand television service is expected to roll out in October, and it has a major difference from the U.S. services. HBO Nordic will offer a standalone product that doesn't require an accompanying cable subscription.

The press release didn't specify why this geographic market is getting the standalone service. There certainly is demand for it stateside, with a campaign called Take My Money HBO asking for a separate streaming-only package going viral in record time. At the time, the company responded that making its HBO Go streaming service available as a standalone product wouldn't make fiscal sense, since it would require a serious infrastructure investment.

"We saw a rapid change in Nordic TV consumption these past years," said Hervé Payan, HBO Nordic's new CEO. "Our target group is younger and more urban than the existing premium pay TV subscribers and they consume TV on multiple screens, particularly on computers, smartphones and tablets." Astute observation.

Could this be a sign that HBO is willing to give a standalone product a try here in the U.S.? Or is it just teasing all of us "Game of Thrones" and "True Blood" fans? Only time will tell.

[Image credit: JasonParis]

This article was written by Anna Washenko and originally appeared on Tecca

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