$15 ‘HBO Now’ Standalone Streaming Package To Launch Next Month On Apple, Google Platforms

Cord-cutting HBO fans are about to get their wish. Time Warner’s premium cable service is poised to offer HBO Now as a standalone, online service. Multiple reports confirm that it will launch in advance of the fifth season of Game of Thrones, which is slated to begin April 12.


HBO Now is expected to be priced at $15 per month, making it one of the more pricey online video services. It will likely work with a variety of services and devices, including Apple TV, Google-backed streaming devices, and Roku streamers. HBO hopes that HBO Now will attract subscribers who don’t already subscribe to cable, many of whom have been clamoring (and even petitioning) for a standalone version of the channel for years.

The new HBO Now isn’t to be confused with HBO Go, the online streaming service offered to people who subscribe to HBO through their cable service providers. HBO Go suffered outages during the premiere of the last season of Game of Thrones, but HBO Now will be delivered on a new service that has been built by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, which has years of experience with MLB’s successful MLB.TV.

The arrival of HBO Now may mark a turning point for cable service providers, which have seen some subscribers leaving traditional cable subscriptions for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu Plus, MLB.TV, and other online streaming services. It will also offer some serious competition to said streaming services, though whether that will result in lower prices remains to be seen.