There's a reason that people got so excited when HBO announced it was going solo: the network has produced some of the best television content ever, but it's always been attached to expensive cable subscriptions. In today's age, fewer and fewer people are relying on cable TV for content. For many, the only reason to get cable was HBO. Now that the network will soon be available without that extra subscription, more people than ever will finally have access to HBO's shows.
Of course, the biggest among those shows right now is Game of Thrones: the show has been going strong since its debut in 2011, and with the fifth season hitting the airwaves early next year, people are getting excited all over again. On that note, HBO's latest decision makes a whole lot of sense.
An internal memo, revealed by Forbes, has detailed HBO's plans to debut its standalone streaming service alongside Game of Thrones in April. While it wasn't the focus of the memo, it's huge news for both Game of Thrones fans and potential subscribers alike.
Originally, the memo discussed the platform that the standalone HBO service will use. Initially, the app would have been developed in-house. Instead, the app will now be handled by MLB Advanced, the same company that created the WWE Network app.
HBO Go, which subscribers can already access for streaming content the day after it's released, was also mentioned in the memo in relation to the standalone services: "...the external partner will take that burden allowing us to focus on the forward looking technologies we are creating for HBO GO." With any luck, this means that improvements are incoming for the HBO Go app, which is notoriously unstable, especially during high-traffic (like Game of Thrones premieres).
At the very least, viewers now have a general idea of when to expect both the standalone HBO services and Game of Thrones. HBO will no doubt release an official statement when the time comes, but for now, fans can rest easy knowing that the new services are only a few months away.
