Announced on Friday night on a blog post by Time Warner spokesman Jeff Simmermon, Time Warner Cable has finally struck a deal with HBO in regards to bringing the HBO Go streaming application as well as the Max Go app to subscribers. The cable company will run a short trial to test out the streaming app on the Time Warner Cable network and roll out the app to all 12 million subscribers during January 2012. Just like implementations on other cable networks, Time Warner Cable customers will have to subscribe to HBO or Cinemax to gain access to content through the streaming application. Customers can use the streaming app on laptops, desktop computers, Android and Apple smartphones, the iPad, gaming consoles as well as set-top boxes like the Roku.
HBO Go offers access to approximately 1,400 titles, both theatrical movies and recent television programs such as Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones, Curb Your Enthusiasm and True Blood in addition to completed series such at The Sopranos, Deadwood and Sex in the City. The MAX Go application offers access to about 400 titles including original programming, blockbuster movies and the MAX After Dark section. HBO has already signed agreements with other cable companies such as Comcast, Charter Communications, AT&T U-verse, DirecTV, Dish Network and Verizon FIOS. The largest holdout at this point is Cablevision with approximately three million subscribers.
While many subscribers have grown somewhat impatient with Time Warner Cable and the slow adoption of the HBO Go platform, the reasoning behind the lengthy delays are likely due to Time Warner’s internal discussion about structuring a direct subscription price to the service rather than positioning it as an added bonus for subscribers of other cable networks. Once access is enabled for subscribers, they will simply download the application on their device or access the content through the HBO Go site.
