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Cable Providers, DVD Revenue, hbo, HBO Broadband, Video On Demand, vod
Cable Providers, DVD Revenue, hbo, HBO Broadband, Video On Demand, vod

Why HBO's New Download Service Won't Be a Hit

Silicon Alley Insider   |  Henry Blodget   |   January 21, 2008 01:26 PM

Read More: Cable Providers, DVD Revenue, Hbo, HBO Broadband, Video On Demand, Vod, Breaking Business News
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HBO is testing a new download service, HBO Broadband, in Milwaukee and in the home of the NFC runner-up Green Bay Packers. It has the makings of a smart idea. Like other traditional-TV-goes-online initiatives, however, it's also hobbled by its need to support HBO's existing business.

With the new service, HBO subscribers who get Internet access from their cable providers will be able to download a handful of HBO programs to their computers and "watch them on the go." If HBO were opening its whole library for downloading, HBO subscribers might love the service (and, more importantly, use it). Given that HBO subs are already paying for access to the programming, this would certainly seem a reasonable proposition.

Alas, HBO is only offering downloads of a handful of shows each month--presumably because they want to protect VOD revenue, control piracy, protect DVD revenue, mollify content partners, and make sure subscribers don't download the whole library and cancel their subscriptions, etc. This means that most eager would-be users will find that they can't download what they really want to watch. Then, frustrated, they'll stop checking the site to see what they can download.

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- Sundialsvc4 I'm a Fan of Sundialsvc4 permalink

I do not believe that "most people" are really the slightest bit interested in _stealing_ material from some BitTorrent. They want to _buy_ stuff.

But HBO, like everybody else, can't "do this half-way." You have to provide everything that you possibly can, and then on top of that you have to feature things: even downloadable movies won't sell themselves.

Unfortunately, HBO finds itself "iToo iLate" coming to this "iParty," and there's nothing much that they can "iDo" about it "iNow."

I'm reading a very good book right now named "The Black Swan." (Unfortunately, my name isn't Oprah so I didn't just make $1 million with that last sentence...) This book points out that the Internet and many other things are quickly becoming pretty much of an "all or nothing game." If you win at all, you win big ... or you don't win at all. I think that HBO is really going to find that out the hard way. You just might find that your market-share disappears and that there IS NO replacement niche out there for you to settle-in to.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 07:52 PM on 01/22/2008
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