HBO is charging consumers $14.99 a month for its standalone service HBO Now, set to launch in April, the company said Monday.
The seismic move unhooks the insanely profitable Time Warner unit from the pay-TV universe for the first time in its history. Time Warner made the move to target a growing number of consumers who watch TV without paying a cable company.
HBO is in talks with cable TV providers, like Comcast, and could reach a deal that would bring the standalone HBO product to the cable company’s broadband subscribers at the same time as its deal with Apple kicks off.
Speaking on Monday at the Apple Watch event, HBO Chief Executive Richard Plepler said HBO Now’s launch would come in tandem with TV disruptor Apple TV.
Anyone with an Apple device or an Apple TV will be able to tune in to watch the latest season of “Game of Thrones,” coming April 12. The first month will be free for early adopters.
Reports suggest the deal for exclusivity on the Apple TV box runs for three months.
“When you subscribe to HBO Now, you will have access to all our acclaimed original programming — past, present and future,” Plepler said at the event.
Apple CEO Tim Cook also announced a price cut to $69 for its Apple TV device, which enables consumers to stream via the Internet to their TV sets.