Today in TechHBO knows you want a standalone HBO Go app, but it simply can’t deliver one
With series like True Blood, Game of Thrones, and Boardwalk Empire, HBO is one of the premiere places for ultra-popular original content, and the company's HBO Go app lets subscribers take that programming with them wherever they go. Ever since HBO Go came into being, social networkers have repeatedly requested a standalone HBO Go app that they could use without having to subscribe through a cable company. Unfortunately, it looks like that wish will never be fulfilled.
A site called Take My Money HBO was established this week to catch the company's attention and let them know that fans were willing to pay standalone programming prices for the app as long as they didn't have to use a cable subscriber. In a rare event, HBO's official Twitter account recognized the request, but silently hinted that such an option will likely never be available.
The HBO tweet linked to a TechCrunch blog article detailing how much people would allegedly be willing to pay for the app, based on the amounts Twitter users were tweeting along with the hashtag #takemymoneyHBO. That figure came out to around $12 per month, which is actually more than HBO gets from its cable subscribers — after cable company fees and other taxes, of course.
Unfortunately, in order to offer its own standalone app, the company would likely have to invest a massive amount into a dedicated infrastructure to host and manage these subscriptions, not to mention the money the company would lose from cable and dish networks through various subscriber agreements.
It looks like, for the time being, at least, HBO Go will serve as an added bonus for current HBO subscribers, rather than a tool to attract new viewers. Though with the gradual move towards à la carte TV content like Hulu and Netflix, who knows what the future may hold?
This article originally appeared on Tecca
More from Tecca:
