NBC Surprised as HBO, CBS Make Move to Online-Only Television

Online-only TV came on faster than NBCUniversal was expecting. Steve Burke, chief executive officer of the broadcaster owned by Comcast, was taken aback by the announcements that HBO and CBS are offering online-only services that don’t require a cable subscription, he said. “I was surprised,” Burke said. “CBS I was surprised because they’ve been such a defender of retransmission consent and the traditional ecosystem and been so successful in the broadcast business. And HBO, because I think it’s going to be such a challenge for them to not cannibalize what is already a really, really good business.”