Hasta La Gadget!

HBO’s president and COO Erik Kessler stated just last month that having à la carte access to HBO isn’t going to happen in the near future, but it seems that the channel’s CEO has been mulling a compromise. According to a new Reuters report, Richard Plepler believes that while HBO “has the right model today,” HBO Go — its standalone app — “could evolve.” In what way, you ask? Presently, HBO Go only shows content to folks who subscribe to the channel via their pay-TV provider, but Plepler seems to think that there’s potential to sell monthly access to the app itself so long as buyers are also subscribed to a broadband internet connection.

In other words, this wouldn’t provide HBO access via one’s cable box or DVR, but considering that HBO Go just recently gained AirPlay support, an iPad + Apple TV combo could effectively accomplish the same thing. Well, outside of the whole “live viewing” thing. Still, the concept of paying $10 or $15 per month for HBO Go (alongside broadband) could be quite compelling for up-and-coming cord cutters — after all, these folks are used to watching shows after they air. Now, here comes the part where you wait for these thoughts to translate into reality. If we had to guess, we’d say that HBO’s oh-so-friendly cable partners aren’t going to be inclined to let such a solid idea actually happen.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Source: Reuters

Earlier this month, we heard news of Time Warner and Apple negotiating a plan to add the HBO Go application to the Apple TV. It’s been 11 days since that story was published, and here we are with news of the HBO Go application now being available on Apple TV… kind of.

During AllThingsD‘s media conference that was held today, president and chief operating officer of HBO Eric Kessler announced iOS owners can use their HBO Go application to stream shows onto their television sets by using AirPlay, which is technically a way for AppleTV owners to get the long-awaited app running on their set-top-box. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Google Default Search Status in iOS Estimated At $1 Billion A Year, iOS 6 Jailbreak Evasi0n Unlocks Nearly 7 Million Devices Within Four Days,

Eric Kessler, President & COO at HBO, just announced that a long-awaited feature will be going live today during his interview at D:Dive Into Media 2013. HBO Go and Max Go users with Apple products filling the home will now be able to enjoy AirPlay beaming. Straight from the man himself:

“Our long-term goal for Go is to be on all platforms and all devices. Effective today, we will be enabling AirPlay — any device that allows users to watch on the big screen is great. You can play HBO Go on your iPhone or iPad, and then beam that to your HDTV via an Apple TV using AirPlay.”

It appears that neither app has seen an update in Apple’s App Store just yet, but we’re guessing it’s only a matter of time before both are refreshed. [Update: Looks as if both updates are now live!] Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that HBO will be on Apple TV for some time yet. Host Kara Swisher asked Kessler what the problem was in getting ’em on there. His reply? “We will get on Apple TV — there is no problem. These things take time.”

We spoke firsthand with Kessler following his interview, and he affirmed that there’s no 30 percent revenue cut to worry about with Apple TV like there is for conventional apps on the App Store. It seemed that HBO simply viewed this as a lower priority now that AirPlay is a reality, and it may go a long way to explaining why so many other video apps are opting for AirPlay inclusion rather than focusing efforts on a dedicated Apple TV app.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Apple

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Source: iTunes (HBO Go), (Max Go)

If you have an Apple TV set-top box attached to the TV in your living room, you may be getting a new entertainment option for the device by the middle of the year. Bloomberg reports that two people familiar with plans for Apple say that Apple and Time Warner Incorporated are negotiating to bring HBO Go to the Apple set-top box. The two sources refused to be named because the talks are private.

According to the sources, the timeframe for HBO Go to come to Apple TV is mid-2013. The Apple TV set-top box already has other streaming video applications such as Netflix and Hulu Plus available for video streaming. The Apple device can use more streaming video services to help it compete better with the PS3, Xbox 360, and cheaper set-top boxes from Roku.

If HBO Go does come to the Apple TV box by the middle of the year, you will need a subscription to HBO in order to use the app. The HBO Go app not only requires that you have a subscription to the HBO network on your cable or satellite company, but you must also be subscribing via participating cable company or satellite provider.

Apple continues to have a moderate success with the Apple TV set-top box selling more than 2 million units in the first quarter of its fiscal 2013 year. Apple’s fiscal Q1 2013 ended in December 2012. Two million units sold in the first quarter of the fiscal year is a definite improvement since it took to full fiscal years for Apple to reach 7.8 million units sold.

[via Bloomberg]

HBO Go app coming to Apple TV by mid-year? is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
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You use HBO Go to watch Game of Thrones and you love it and you totally can’t live without but… do you really pay for it? Or do you use a login from a friend of a cousin of an in-law of a completely random girl? Watch this video where CollegeHumor reveals the hilarious truth about everybody’s HBO Go’s subscription. More »