Streaming HBO Soon?

With the networks like FOX and NBC streaming full episodes online many of the shows I watch can be viewed online. This model works for the networks because they broadcast for free, and pay for shows through advertising. This is the hurdle preventing subscription channel cable networks like HBO from doing this model. Sure, you can buy episodes from iTunes, but you are still paying twice -once for the network, once for the downloaded copy.

So, if you subscribe to HBO but are on the road and miss that episode you are out of luck (and some money). Soon however, this might not be the case! HBO put out a survey asking if people would take advantage of an HBO.com streaming service. There weren’t many specifics, but this at least shows they are thinking about it.

It would probably work so that if you subscribe to HBO you could also view the network from the website while away from home. It will be interesting to see the verification process to determine you are a legitimate subscriber. The other way this could work is as a simple pay service. So, whether you subscribe or not, you could purchase streaming rights to HBO.com for a monthly fee. This is probably one of the few things still tying me to my cable service. Everything else I can find (legally) online. If I could pay something like under $10 a month for hbo.com I would find it very easy to cut the cable.