HBO negotiating with Apple as a launch partner for HBO Now

On the heels of Sony’s announcement that HBO Go will be available through the PS4, International Business Times is reporting that HBO is in negotiations with Apple to make Apple TV a launch partner for the upcoming HBO Now. The major difference between the two is that Sony’s deal will require a cable service provider subscription in order to stream HBO Go, whereas HBO Now will be a standalone service.

Find out more after the jump.

According to IBT, when HBO Now launches, consumers will be able to subscribe to the service directly from HBO, as opposed to going through a cable or satellite provider.

“The retail price is expected to be $15 a month when purchased directly from HBO, or about the price that consumers pay when they order HBO through their cable, satellite or telco provider.”

The piece goes on to talk about Time Warner Inc. (HBO’s parent company), looking to widen its distributors for HBO.

“With ‘HBO Now,’ HBO’s corporate parent, Time Warner Inc., is looking to a whole new generation of distributors for HBO such as Apple TV, Roku, Xbox, PlayStation, Amazon and others to help market the service to an estimated 10 million U.S. broadband subscribers who do not pay for a cable TV bundle. CEO Jeff Bewkes has said the offering could also help reach some of the 70 million cable TV subscribers who do not subscribe to HBO but might if given the opportunity to subscribe online.”

At $15 a month, HBO Now would be much more affordable for people looking to just watch HBO content like Game of Thrones. It would still be more expensive than Netflix, but not tremendously so. If everything works out and the launch goes as planned, the question will be if piracy numbers drop. Game of Thrones Season 4 smashed all sorts of piracy records. HBO Now could potentially change that trend.

• Published on 03/04/2015 at 3:33 PM CDT
• Last updated on 10/21/2016 at 1:06 PM CDT