Cablevision to Offer HBO Now to Broadband-Only Customers

Cablevision Systems is the first pay-TV provider to agree to offer HBO’s standalone Internet-streaming service -- without having to also buy a TV package. Pricing for HBO Now as purchased through Cablevision’s Optimum service was not announced. HBO said HBO Now would launch on Apple TV for $14.99 per month (with the first 30 days free), as the exclusive Internet-device partner for three months. The New York-based MSO is the first cable provider to partner with HBO to offer the new over-the-top service, expected to launch in April in time for the fifth season of “Game of Thrones.”

Whether Cablevision’s opting in to HBO Now leads other operators to follow suit remains in question -- as does how the operator’s decision will affect its TV subscriber base. In any case, for HBO, the deal represents a small piece of the overall pie: As of the end of 2014, Cablevision reported 2.68 million video and 2.76 million broadband customers. That’s just a fraction of the 100.8 million US pay-TV homes estimated by Nielsen as of the end of 2014. Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Verizon and AT&T are among pay-TV ops that have offered HBO as part of a broadband-centric bundle that includes basic broadcast TV service along with HBO. But Cablevision is now the first to strip out any TV requirement at all in order for an Internet subscriber to obtain access to HBO’s full complement of programming -- putting HBO on more direct footing vis-a-vis over-the-top competitors like Netflix.