HBO's new streaming service will be priced at around $15 per month, an uncompetitive $6 higher than Netflix's (NASDAQ: NFLX) most common $8.99 plan.
This is according to a Monday report in The Information, which cites an unnamed source said to be familiar with the HBO service's development. The publication describes the HBO's new product as "doomed before it even starts," with the service's price tag also exceeding that of HBO services offered through pay TV providers.
According to a study conducted by The Diffusion Group, among broadband users who don't subscribe to video services, only 6 percent were moderately or highly interested in an a la carte HBO service if it was priced at $15 a month or higher.
Although, it is also fair to say that a group of broadband-only users is not already hooked on hit HBO series like Game of Thrones or True Detective, so that metric is probably a bit deceptive.
As Netflix CEO Reed Hastings recently noted, pricing is a "tricky issue" for HBO as it tries to roll out its broadband-only product and not simultaneously alienate pay-TV partners.
For more:
- read this report from The Information (sub. req.)
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