Friday 1 July 2011

The HBO Go app has been downloaded 3m times

"If you don't believe cord cutting exists and that there isn't any competition between Netflix and cable programmers, then you needn't read on.
If on the other hand, you at least see the potential for Netflix to some day snatch customers away from the cable guys, then take note: this weekend HBO expects to see the 3 millionth download of the HBO Go app, which debuted on May 2, a company spokesman told CNET. There are 28 million HBO subscribers in the United States so the 3 million downloads would indicate that roughly 10 percent of the company's audience has tried out the app.
That's pretty good when you consider not all cable providers offer it (you listening Time Warner Cable?). The 3 million mark could be surpassed today at 9 p.m. during the season premiere of the popular vampire romp "True Blood."
HBO is dangling a carrot for "True Blood" followers to download the app, which enables subscribers of the premium cable network to watch more than 1,400 shows on iPads, iPhones, and Android devices. HBO Go users will get to watch next week's episode directly following the season premiere tonight.
The app, which has been applauded by critics as well as users, saw 1 million downloads in its first week. A big part of the app's success, beyond the slick way it organizes the material and the high quality of the stream, is the vast amount of content available. This isn't Hulu Plus, which skimps on the number of back episodes it offers from popular shows. HBO doubled down on HBO Go and gives a user access to everything in the vault, which conceivably risks sales of DVD box sets."

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