HBO's standalone over-the-top SVOD service, HBO Now, continues to expand beyond its initial Apple TV boundaries. The provider announced that Verizon broadband customers, including both FiOS and high-speed Internet customers, now can sign up for the service. HBO Now is also giving new customers from Verizon a free 30-day trial.
HBO added that its content will also be available on Verizon's mobile-first online video platform, which is still slated to launch sometime in the second half of this year.
Once they're signed up via verizon.com/hbonow, new subscribers can access the service on their Android smartphone or tablet, Amazon Fire tablet or Apple iOS device by installing the HBO Now app and signing in. The $14.99 per month service, by the way, is only available to broadband subscribers who do not also have FiOS TV.
"This agreement with Verizon represents the commitment our companies share to respond to changing consumer behavior through innovation, bringing audiences the best in entertainment the way they want it," said Jeff Dallesandro, SVP of Worldwide Digital Distribution and Business Development for HBO, in a news release. "We're excited to evolve our partnership with Verizon and bring HBO programming to a new generation of broadband-only customers."
How HBO will integrate into Verizon's upcoming mobile OTT service, reportedly called "Go90," isn't yet detailed. Variety reported that Go90 will initially be a completely free service for Verizon Wireless customers.
The channel lineup for Go90 hasn't been completely set, FierceWireless reported, with a Verizon spokesperson saying that recent screenshots of the service showed an "inaccurate" channel listing. However, in addition to HBO, Verizon has signed on Vice, AwesomenessTV, Vevo and GoPro, and has reportedly partnered with Viacom to feature some of its networks on the service. It will also feature AOL content, of course, after acquiring the company and its programmatic advertising platform in May.
"This is a lineup that is really around all live-type news clips and sports and events, so very different than what anyone else is bringing to the marketplace," Verizon CFO Fran Shammo said on its second-quarter earnings call.
HBO has already integrated its service with other linear OTT providers, most notably Sling TV, where subscribers pay $15 per month to access HBO programming. They also can use the HBO Go TV Everywhere app, similar to traditional pay-TV customers.
HBO Now announced its availability on the Google Play store and Android devices in mid-July. The company says that the app will be available soon on Chromecast devices and Amazon's Fire TV and Fire TV Stick.
For more:
- see the release
Related articles:
Report: Verizon's mobile OTT video service to be called 'Go90,' will have some content exclusively for Verizon Wireless subs
Fast-growing HBO Now expands beyond Apple, launches on Android, Amazon, Chromecast devices
Premium OTT revenues will more than double by 2018, Ooyala-Vindicia report says
Netflix, Showtime, HBO set OTT strategies in motion
HBO Now may have over 850K subscribers, analyst says