A lot of unanswered questions from today’s announcement during an analyst call. Here’s my top 5
How exclusive is Amazon’s agreement for HBO’s back catalog? If it is exclusive and only Amazon can stream the back catalog they recently bought, then the new app is going to feel like HBO GO Lite since all they'll be able to show is current season programming.
How are they going to make the MVPDs happy so that they keep the HBO gravy train flowing? The answer might be by telling them that the new OTT app is just HBO Lite and not as full featured at HBO Go. Or they may just be betting on the fact that the MVPDs need HBO more than HBO needs the MVPDs.
How does this affect CineMax which, with shows like The Knick, is also starting to have quality original content? Right now they are bundled with HBO in most MVPD packages. Will HBO throw Cinemax in on the new app?
How large is the audience really? If people don’t currently have HBO on their pay-TV package, why would this push them to sign up and of the group that does not currently have pay TV, how many of them made that decision for moral rather than economic reasons? In a similar vein, is HBO hoping that a low priced package can convince millennials to sign up rather than using their parents passwords?
How soon before another network follows them? The problem with assuming this is the opening of a floodgate is the convoluted rights equations in the US. Given how much of their back catalog is currently on Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, the other networks may not have a whole lot beyond their current seasons to throw up on an OTT app, thus greatly diminishing the appeal of launching such an app. Remember too that few other networks have the cachet of an HBO.
Listen to me discuss HBO's announcement on NPR's Morning Edition with Neda Ulaby
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