Does Apple-HBO Deal Dis Roku, Google, Others?

[rocketrydr]

So, people still care about HBO then? Hmmm, nobody I know gets it, has gotten it, or is interested. Is it really worth tying yourself down to Apple's closed ecosystem to skip 3 months of waiting for whatever violent frivolity they've come out with most recently?

I don't think this is going to do much for Apple, honestly.

Unless I missed the point of the authors story, people do care about HBO and they are wanting it without any strings attached as well as being able to use a streaming device or service of their choice. It may not have been written otherwise.

Your point is well taken with regards to being tied into the Apple ecosystem but as far as being tied down? Maybe I'm being too granular but, I'm not seeing too much in the way of consequences for dropping the Apple TV appliance off at a friends house after 3 months or so. As I mentioned, A good bottle of Vodka with taxes is probably 69 bucks. Now if you would rather have a good single malt bourbon and a few beers, that evening could cost as much.

I don't like Apple but let's face some reality. They were first to make a deal with HBO. HBO knows the landscape is changing quickly and it's easy to believe that they were paid well. Undoubtedly this will put some additional Apple appliances into peoples homes (mine in this case). What either one company does with this partnership and the consumers reaction to it is still in the future but, some things go without saying (I'll say them anyway). They are both moving quickly and others will have to as well if they want to compete successfully for market share. Things don't stay the same anymore for long.

I'l be out for a total of 113.97 just so the wife won't have her first complaint about cutting the cord and moving to TIVO. I'll have an Apple appliance worked into my entertainment system. I'll have to sign up for an Apple online account that will come with no real commitment and I'll have some Vodka, Bourbon, a few beers. When it's all said and done I think I'll get on my Harley and go for a ride, all the while thinking about what a great country this is. I'll do that before I start drinking and watching Game of Thrones with the wife of course.

 

[rocketrydr]

Roku streams Amazon which has HBO for A LOT LESS per year!
This will be a stillborn.

You won't get the most current offerings until they go past some sort of waiting period. That's not necessarily a negative for those who just aren't concerned with watching shows as they are released. There is a lot on Amazon prime, but still limited. Current seasons of shows like Game of Thrones and True Detectives will not be Prime for some time. These shows and others are a big draw for HBO. You will need to pay the fee to watch as released or steal the content. Sorry, that last part was just a pre-emptive comment to those who might respond not advocation of such an act. All in all, I like where we are headed. Pay for what you want. The deals that companies make with each other to create the revenue that helps to provide the services and entertainment choices we have is is a lot of fun to watch. I don't like how all the deals work out but it's great to be able to choose what we want for what ever reason we see fit. This is a great country and I hope we never loose that.

 

[Dvdre]

I love HBO. John Oliver alone is nearly worth the $15 a month cost -- which is actually $1 less than the local cable service charges, and HBO is never discounted.

When Time Warner announced it would stream HBO without a cable subscription - last October - I immediately bought TWX stock. HBO could be a goldmine for TWX. But then this decision to pair up with Apple only for 3 months shows that TWX is a moronic company. There was no reason to pander to Apple. There was no reason to offer a month free when Game of Thrones launches. Doesn't HBO realize a person could watch the entire Game of Thrones library in that month, for free? Instead of buying the DVD sets? Then quit. While I have an iPad and an iPhone, I want to watch HBO through my Roku, like I do now, even though I have no cable subscription. (You know, hint, hint.) But I have always been fully willing to buy HBO if it was offered without a cable subscription. Not there yet.

I sold my TWX stock on the day of the Apple announcement, made a 20% profit, which was nice, but I am not impressed with the Time Warner company at all. They simply don't get it.

 

[rubens feeder]

If Apple thinks that I, and millions others, are going to rush to buy Apple products over this, they are sorely mistaken. In the meantime, HBO is not getting my money. I hope Apple has paid HBO richly for this.

Yeah, this deal is a total joke, I just had to laugh. They are not getting my money, as I buy the service that works on all my devices, not just a small subset. These dumb exclusive deals are of absolute no value to a customer, ever.
And there must be some deranged managers that figure that somebody might be dumb enough to go buy an apple device, just because they can't wait a few month. It is not like it is a limit time deal, HBO now will be on all devices, I'm sure they will realize that they are missing out on most of the market. It might be though, that the above dumb people that I just described need to be milked ;-), so HBO figures that if Apple fanboys are ready to heavily overpay for devices, they are willing to overpay for HBO too, so once the 3 months are up, having milked the iFolk, they are will lower the prices for all the rest of us more money-savy people ;-)