HBO to offer a Broadband Internet Channel
HBO, a U.S. cable network owned by media conglomerate Time Warner, is considering offering a broadband Internet channel that would be available to customers who also subscribe to its cable television service, the Financial Times reported on its Web site.
HBO executives have been hashing out the details of what they will offer online, and a spokesman says no formal decision has been made. But programming will almost certainly be offered via a subscription service, much like the mixture of HBO movies and original fare such as The Wire, Deadwood, and Big Love now offered by cable and satellite operators for a monthly fee of $10 to $12 or more.
An HBO broadband offering would join a field that’s getting more crowded by the moment—and apparently enjoying some success among early adopters. The Disney Channel says it has streamed more than 48 million episodes of shows since launching its broadband service in January. To capture a decidedly edgier audience, Sony, MGM, and Comcast launched their own broadband horror movie site, FearNET, on Oct. 30. But the world of broadband TV viewing would get a big boost when HBO, which annually wins a slew of Emmys and enjoys the industry’s heftiest profit margins, makes its long-awaited entry online.
HBO has made its first leap into broadband with a new topical comedy channel it will produce jointly with corporate sibling AOL.