Rising interest in HBO and Cinemax original programming and a sunny outlook for the companies in the years to come coincides with their push into online streaming, said an analyst at IHS iSuppli. Indeed, a new study foresees that by 2015 the companies' net revenue per subscriber per month will hit $8.73 - up nearly $1 from similar earnings reported in 2009.
Citing HBO's immediate success with the mobile version of HBO Go, the research group believes a leap onto video game platforms and smart TVs (a la Netflix) is not only possible, but makes sense considering HBO's "expansive online strategy."
Go, which offers over 1,400 shows covering a variety of the network's content, launched on April 29th. Erik Kessler, HBO co-president, said in May that the free app garnered over 1 million downloads within the first seven days. But will the necessity of retaining a paid subscription in order to access the app spell the subsequent decline of normal TV viewing?
Erik Brannon, U.S. Cable Networks analyst at IHS, dismissed the notion.
"By no means is this encouraging pay-TV customers to cut the cord -- as access to all HBO Go services requires a current subscription to a pay-TV provider," Brannon said. "For now, the impressive usability of the HBO Go service is only working to strengthen the position of the traditional pay-TV subscription fee, though this may well evolve long term as consumer habits change, much like we witnessed with Netflix's transition away from DVD."
Brannon supported his findings with the fact that HBO and Cinemax enjoy a healthy paying user base of 39 million - 80% of which can access HBO Go. That means over 31 million are able to extend their TV subscriptions to their smart phones and tablets. While it's unlikely all will do so, it certainly bodes well for the two companies as they branch out into "social TV functionality" and attempt "to create a wide ecosystem presence across connected devices."
Have you downloaded the HBO Go app to catch "Game of Thrones" away from home? Let us know what you think of it in the comment section.
