After almost a year, HBO Now has around 800,000 paying subscribers
Launched back in April, the standalone HBO Now service has only 800,000 paying subscribers. HBO CEO Richard Plepler mentioned the number during a recent Time Warner quarterly earnings call.
That’s below some estimates of around 1 million paying customers.
During the call, Plepler said that the service isn’t available on two major platforms – PlayStation and Xbox. Around 20 percent of viewers on the similar HBO Go service use those gaming consoles. The CEO also said new content could help increase the subscriber base:
“And we’ve not yet put out the content like Jon Stewart, Bill Simmons, Vice daily news show, that we think is particularly suited for those platforms.”
Made for the future
Designed specifically for cord cutters, HBO Now offers instant access to the pay TV service’s lengthy list of original programming, as well as hit movies, documentaries, sports, and comedy specials. The service represents the first time HBO is being offered to users without a cable or satellite subscription.
Like with HBO Go, HBO Now is an on-demand service and not near-real-time streams of HBO’s linear channels.
HBO Now is available on the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV.
It’s available on the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. It costs $14.99 per month. New subscribers can receive a a 30-day free trial.
When originally launched, the service was exclusive to Apple devices but is now available through a number of different avenues.
While I think HBO Now is a great idea, it may take time for the service to grow along with the number of cord cutters. And the $14.99 per month fee is substantially more than other competitors like Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video.
For other news today, see: How to add multiple Instagram accounts on your iPhone, Samsung is catching up to the iPhone, by the numbers, and Twitter is just mimicking Facebook with its timeline algorithm.
