HBO will finally let you watch without having Cable

I currently have HBO tv, but because it's Comcast I don't get HBOGo. If I reduced my package to just internet it would still be Comcast, so no HBOGo. Why go Comcast? Because as far as I know, it's the only 'nets around.

If there is a delay in content delivery after live airing then I'll continue to pirate. Otherwise, I would probably pay $20/month for this.

mkopec_sl said:

Also there is a point where all this shit ceases to be a "deal" . so lets see here is one show that I like on hulu, ching, so that other one my wife likes on Netflix, ching. Oh, and we have got to get HBO for GoT that we both like, ching.... So as time goes on and more of these break away from cable, we will reach a point where we went full circle and someone will have a great idea to consolidate all that into a package deal and were right back where we've started.

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Yeah, and that's effectively what Netflix/Amazon is. From what I've read about both sites is that even at 20$ a month, with X number of subs, they could trivially host/pay for this kind of content. So, while it's not a 1:1 translation, in most cases the cable companies are doing like a 4-5 times mark up for most of this content (Compared to what a purely online distributor would sell it for.) In a lot of cases; the cable companies have these extreme mark ups because they control a huge demographic ofnon-internetusers, and it's a market many of these shows desperately need--and the Cable companies clobber the content producers (HBO, Showtime, AMC ect) over the head with this market non-stop. (IE If you sell your current content to others--lose out on X million people who are not internet savvy or don't have the internet.)

Deathwing_sl said:

All about the price point. I pirate tv shows yet I still have a Netflix account and I can't remember the last time I pirated a game since the advent of steam sales. They either need to have MUST HAVE content, which they admittedly might have, or they need to use a price point where paying the subscription cost per month is competitive with the hassle and risk of pirating.

I have competition for my free time, this ain't the 70's with 4 channels. Game of Thrones is indeed a very good show. But I'm not paying a ridiculous sum per month for it. I'll just go spend time with my son/wife, or play more video games, do shit around the house that I've put off, I have no shortage of things to do.

You may call it rationalizing, but I think it's really just some content providers finally realizing that they aren't competing against other TV shows or channels, but against everything else someone can do in their free time.

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This is pretty much me, too. I have Netflix and I almost never watch it. But it's so cheap for so much content, I figure why the hell not?

I'm glad HBO is doing this because it may make the cable and satellite companies unbundle, but for me, it's far too late. I've become comfortable pirating shows. In fact, I prefer it. An example is last night with Survivor. It airs at 8pm PST, and yet, I've got an HD copy downloaded and 75% watched by the time it airs live. And that's without commercials.

Not only that, but when I was torrenting, I received 2 DMCA notices and they were both from HBO. HBO is what pushed me into usenet. And also like Deathwing said, the content just isn't there to justify HBO for me. I suppose if it was about $2 a month, and I could figure out a simple way to integrate it into XBMC, I might consider it. But when Netflix is $8 for a massive library, I'm not about to shell out that kind of money to watch the 1-2 good shows an entire year that HBO produces (even if they're amazing).

In July I cut the cord with DirecTV. I now use an HD antenna ($40 Amazon) for live sports and the occasional live show I don't care to download (and I should note the HD is better quality), usenet (<$1/month for indexer, $6/month for provider) for dozens of shows (nzbdrone) and movies. I also have Netflix ($8/month) and Amazon Prime ($0 since I was only using it for shipping originally, but we'll call it like $8/month). So for a one time charge of $40, and about $15 a month, I have about 98% of the content I could ever want. The only thing I'm missing is Sunday Ticket, where I get crappy streams from Sports Devil.

Sylas_sl said:

I'm still going to steal GoT.

Now if they offered something like pay $100 bucks, get the full 10 episode season of GoT streaming available the same time as it airs on TV, and that $100 also included the dvd/bluray of that season you paid for when it releases (like a year later) then I would pay for it without question.

break it down its basically $40 bucks to watch GoT when it airs (~comparable to 2 months of HBO, but i'm only watching 1 show) and $60 for a physical copy of the season on disc when it releases.

edit: actually, what else is on HBO? True Detective and Silicon Valley? Depending on how much the sub is, and if it's available same as TV then I might sub.

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Yeah but I mean you can do that now with your cable provider.

I can cancel HBO at any time and resub whenever I want. It's $20/mo unless there is a promotion going on where it's $10. Let's say I have to sub for 3 months to watch GOT and then cancel, that's $60, plus whatever the season will cost when it's out.

Of course, I'm not a cord cutter yet, so my mileage is different here.

You're essentially going to steal the show before you even know what HBO is going to offer. It's like going to a store and stealing things without looking at the price because you have already come in with the notion that you will steal it.

I'm not one of those anti-piracy dudes or anything. I pirate most of my music before I buy it, because why the fuck would i waste money on something terrible. But I am against piracy for the sake of piracy.

No one pirates for the sake of piracy. What the hell does that even mean? People pirate because they're cheap.

It's entirely about convenience for me. I used to use Redbox a lot because of the cheapness of it. But then I got to the point where I'd rather just check the Redbox website for what's coming out soon and download it. Now I don't have to drive to the Redbox or be obligated to their time tables.

It's not about money for me anymore. It's just being a lazy ass and wanting to have things saved locally so I can watch them whenever I want.

Alex_sl said:

No one pirates for the sake of piracy. What the hell does that even mean? People pirate because they're cheap.

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Sure they do, heaps of people pirate shitloads of stuff they are never going to play/watch/whatever, just so that they 'have' it. It's the hoarding of the digital age ;p

BrutulTM_sl said:

Me too. People rationalize pirating all the time, they will find away to do it with this as well.

I think there will have to be some concession to the cable companies though. A hefty delay or it will cost $30 a month or something.

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A friend I know pirates because of convenience. He can setup to have whatever shows he likes automatically downloaded, stored on a multi-device accessible media server and converted to whatever format he wants for usage on any of his numerous devices in his house. He can organize it in whatever format he chooses and binge watch whenever he wishes. He can remove commercials, credits, even intro scenes if he wishes. He can included custom navigation features if he really desires. And he can set nearly all of it so it is automated. All he has to do is look up the show he wants on IMDB and click it then the rest is just magic. He has made it so easy that ever computer illiterate family members only need to know how to switch to HDMI 2 and use the remote to see what they wish.


It's defiantly rationalization though.


On a side note my friend also has issues with paying for TV show episodes he's already paid for with his cable subscription. He seems to think all he is paying for is the convince of them doing all the automation work he could do entirely legally himself (Capture show -> upload to computer ->tidy it up -> store it)


/friendoff

I would to say that pirating TV show episodes has only become as prevalent as it has because the industry is moving at a glacially slow pace to integrating with all of the new technology that exists now. The only thing they haven't moved at a snail pace doing is suing people. There is a market for and a willingness to pay for stored easily accessible content (See early Netflix) but it has to be integrated and balanced within current realities.