Quote:
Originally Posted by psyang
On a larger scale, no, it's not a good business model. But I'd be curious to know how many people are unable to buy a show vs. how many are willing to either subscribe to HBO (where available) or wait and purchase it when available? HBO may see an iTunes model (for example) as destroying their revenue stream from the cable companies. They're willing to make a small number of potential fans unhappy to sustain their tried+true business model.
And like I said in my original post, it's the same business model that is allowing them to make risks and produce shows of exceptional quality. An iTunes or similar model might not produce the same stable cashflow to allow innovatives/risky shows to even see the light of day.
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Revenue streams from cable companies are dying with the creation of Netflix, Hulu and other 'cable cutting' services.
I have a hard time believing that if HBO worked together with a company that had the infastructure in place to deliver high quality on demand video, like YouTube, Netflix or Hulu, that they couldn't make a healthy profit.
HBO has around 30 million subscribers right now, and from what I've read, they get around $8/subscriber/month. If they charge $20/month to watch HBO on YouTube/Netflix/Hulu, I'd imagine a lot of people would sign up.