At the Apple conference today
Today at Apple’s Watch and MacBook conference, HBO announced that HBO Now, its highly anticipated standalone streaming service, is coming in April. That gist is that it allows people to cut the cord on cable if they want HBO for a fee, which is great news if you’re a fan of the myriad classics on the network.
HBO Now will debut in early in the month before the April 12 premiere date for Game of Thrones season five, and will cost $14.99 per month, with an offer for a free first month if you subscribe before the end of April. That’s close to what people pay now for the channel with cable (my rate is $19 per month).
There’s a terrible catch though — it will debut on the PC and Apple devices (like the Apple TV) as a timed exclusive. That’s basically timed to last the entire season of Game of Thrones. Yikes. At the very least you’ll be able to readily hook your PC or laptop up via HDMI and watch it on a TV that way if you don’t feel like picking up an Apple TV.
HBO Now is expected to debut on your PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One, so it’s totally gaming related you guys.
