HBO’s standalone, no-cable-needed $15 monthly HBO Now streaming service will be available on a range of Android and Amazon devices starting Thursday.
The premium cabler — looking to compete with Netflix and other Internet-only video services — first launched HBO Now on Apple TV and Cablevision Systems in April. The service, aimed at consumers who don’t want to pay for a full pay-TV subscription, will now be available on Android OS 4.1 and later phones and tablets as well as Amazon Fire Tablets starting today. HBO also plans to add support for Google’s Chromecast and Android TV, and Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick.
The Time Warner-owned network has declined to provide figures on HBO Now signups, but execs have said there’s an addressable market of about 10 million U.S. households that have broadband but do not subscribe to pay TV.
According to estimates by BTIG Research analyst Rich Greenfield, HBO Now had more than 850,000 subs and possibly even around 1 million as of the end of June. His analysis was based on HBO Now’s rank among daily top-grossing apps on iTunes, adjusted to add subs who signed up via Apple TV (an estimate derived from discussions with industry executives).
“This is a very solid start for HBO and shows there is clear demand for HBO above and beyond the existing (pay-TV) bundle,” he wrote in a blog post.
HBO Now includes access to more than 2,000 of the network’s original titles and specials, including every episode of “Game of Thrones,” “True Detective,” “Girls,” “Veep,” “True Blood” and “Sex and the City.” HBO Go, the network’s authenticated service for consumers who subscribe through cable, satellite or telco TV services, provides the same lineup.
