The Beginning of the End

Cable may not be dead, but it certainly looks terminal. HBO announced a standalone streaming service to begin in 2015. HBO GO without a cable subscription.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/10/15/hbo-web-subscription/17299177/

Of course this was going to happen. Content is king. Cable companies and network broadcasters, pre-Internet, were a necessary evil. A barrier to the content you want. Do you want HBO or Comcast?

We’ve always known that with Internet distribution, the distribution middlemen can be dis-intermediated, so there is no reason for content providers to go direct. This fact was explicitly stated when HBO Chairman and CEO Richard Plepler stated “It is time to remove all barriers to those who want HBO” during Time Warner’s investor meeting on Wednesday.

This is one of the first direct over offerings from a major content producer. It is a big deal. And the beginning of the end of cable’s reign.