HBO Go a going concern

HBO Go is proving that you don't need to go over-the-top to place your programming on devices that are not directly connected to in-building broadband networks but are still part of the service provider community.

If all went as expected over the weekend, HBO downloaded its three millionth HBO Go app since the service launched May 2, meaning more than 10 percent of the programmer's 28 million U.S. subscribers have signed up for the service that lets them watch HBO premium programming from pretty much any broadband-connected device--wireline or wireless.

This is great news for service providers competing with over-the-top offerings of programming without a subscription hitch. HBO Go viewers need to be HBO subscribers, and the only way they can do that now is through a cable, telephone or satellite subscription. There's no extra charge on top of that subscription for the HBO Go service. Ad-supported cable networks, unlike HBO, have been a bit more reticent about putting their wares out in the ether, claiming, primarily, that there's no measurement system available to show how many eyes are glued to the programming once it leaves a TV set and thus how many consumers can be counted for advertising purposes.

For more:
- CNET has this story

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