Netflix wants to know: Would you pay another $10 a month for HBO shows and movies via the streaming video service Watch Instantly?
The mail-rental giant asked subscribers about their interest in online versions of current HBO series such as “Big Love” and “Flight of the Concords,” as well as oldie goldies “The Sopranos,” “Six Feet Under” and “The Wire.” And a bunch of movies showing their age.
Netflix’s Watch Instantly streaming service comes with a regular subscription. It features mostly catalog movies and indie fare but has a solid 12,000 or so movies on tap.
The poll cited “HBO content,” not specific channels. There are seven.
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, pictured, is an unabashed fan of HBO original programming.
Netflix has been moving aggressively into the broadband streaming video business, finding hardware outlets recently on the Xbox 360, Tivo, and Blu-ray boxes from LG and Samsung. The HBO fare would be available via those channels, as well as on PCs.
$10? (Well, make it $9.99.) Sounds like a non-starter. If you get the Time Warner premium service via cable or satellite, who needs it? And $10 will get you most of the way to paying for the cable tier, anyway. The value to such a service may be in exploring older HBO series such as “Rome,” maybe.
“Big Love” looks surprisingly strong this season, but for the most part HBO’s glory days have come and gone. I’m thinking the price point for HBO streaming video via Netflix is something like $5 a month (make that $4.99). Even though HBO fare goes for $1.99 an episode on iTunes. Remember, Watch Instantly is free … of additional charge.
Hacking Netflix broke the story. Video Business quoted a Netflix flack as saying hundreds of similar polls are emailed out each month, and that there were no talks with HBO anyway.
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