Anyone heard any new scuttlebutt about the addition of apps/service for either Showtime or HBO on TiVo? I know there been demand for HBO Go and Showtime Anytime apps for awhile now and, these days, the TV distribution landscape is really in flux with HBO Now plus a similar pending service to be rolled out soon by Showtime. TiVo CEO Tom Rogers went on the record with Bloomberg on Mar. 4, 2015 stating that they are in negotiations with HBO to offer HBO Now.
Here's what I'd like to see happen. I think it's a plausible scenario.
TiVo adds the HBO Go app, but not the HBO Now app, to recent model TiVos through a software update. Hopefully they also add the Showtime Anytime app. (From here on I'll refer just to HBO, but I could see the same sort of set-up implemented with Showtime.)
Anyone with a valid HBO subscription from a traditional TV provider (cable/satellite/IPTV) could log-in, authenticate and use the HBO Go app on their TiVo. In most cases, this would likely be someone who uses their TiVo in conjunction with cable via a CableCard and has HBO added to their cable package but, in some cases (like me), it could be someone who gets access to HBO Go packaged in with their internet service. (I actually have a special one-year package with AT&T U-Verse that gives me very basic SD TV service, which I don't use, plus HBO, which gives me access to HBO Go, plus high-speed internet.)
As with Netflix, Amazon, etc., the titles in HBO Go would be searchable via the system-wide TiVo search and could be added to OnePass.
Here's the interesting part: folks who use their TiVo only with an OTA antenna (i.e. do not have an active CableCard in their unit) would be allowed to subscribe to HBO through TiVo, probably for $15 per month. (Those with an active CableCard in their TiVo could not subscribe to HBO through TiVo but must instead subscribe through their cable company.) Like any traditional MSO, TiVo will get a cut for distributing the channel and handling the monthly billing. The original linear HBO channel will show up in the TV listings grid on the TiVo, right alongside OTA channels, with a user-assignable channel number but it will actually be a live online HD stream of the channel. The current deal that HBO has with Sling TV -- which they're not branding as HBO Now, just as "HBO" -- provides a live stream of the linear HBO channel, along with some on-demand titles. (Hopefully additional live stream channels would be made available too: HBO2, HBO Family, etc.) Ideally, these live streams would be recordable just like any regular OTA or cable channel on a TiVo. HBO could implement a digital flag in the stream that would prevent the copying/moving of recordings off the TiVo.
Along with the live streaming channels, those who subscribe to HBO through TiVo would also get access to HBO Go (just like traditional HBO subscribers). The HBO Go app would automatically authenticate on the TiVo. Users could also access HBO Go on other devices by authenticating with their TiVo username and password.
HBO, Showtime and TiVo are all largely dependent on their relationships with cable MSOs but all three companies are now trying to ride the cord cutting wave and tap into new subscribers who are interested in their specific product but not cable TV in general. The scenario I described above would help them appeal to cord cutters but show cable operators that they're not trying to displace them.
Here's what I'd like to see happen. I think it's a plausible scenario.
TiVo adds the HBO Go app, but not the HBO Now app, to recent model TiVos through a software update. Hopefully they also add the Showtime Anytime app. (From here on I'll refer just to HBO, but I could see the same sort of set-up implemented with Showtime.)
Anyone with a valid HBO subscription from a traditional TV provider (cable/satellite/IPTV) could log-in, authenticate and use the HBO Go app on their TiVo. In most cases, this would likely be someone who uses their TiVo in conjunction with cable via a CableCard and has HBO added to their cable package but, in some cases (like me), it could be someone who gets access to HBO Go packaged in with their internet service. (I actually have a special one-year package with AT&T U-Verse that gives me very basic SD TV service, which I don't use, plus HBO, which gives me access to HBO Go, plus high-speed internet.)
As with Netflix, Amazon, etc., the titles in HBO Go would be searchable via the system-wide TiVo search and could be added to OnePass.
Here's the interesting part: folks who use their TiVo only with an OTA antenna (i.e. do not have an active CableCard in their unit) would be allowed to subscribe to HBO through TiVo, probably for $15 per month. (Those with an active CableCard in their TiVo could not subscribe to HBO through TiVo but must instead subscribe through their cable company.) Like any traditional MSO, TiVo will get a cut for distributing the channel and handling the monthly billing. The original linear HBO channel will show up in the TV listings grid on the TiVo, right alongside OTA channels, with a user-assignable channel number but it will actually be a live online HD stream of the channel. The current deal that HBO has with Sling TV -- which they're not branding as HBO Now, just as "HBO" -- provides a live stream of the linear HBO channel, along with some on-demand titles. (Hopefully additional live stream channels would be made available too: HBO2, HBO Family, etc.) Ideally, these live streams would be recordable just like any regular OTA or cable channel on a TiVo. HBO could implement a digital flag in the stream that would prevent the copying/moving of recordings off the TiVo.
Along with the live streaming channels, those who subscribe to HBO through TiVo would also get access to HBO Go (just like traditional HBO subscribers). The HBO Go app would automatically authenticate on the TiVo. Users could also access HBO Go on other devices by authenticating with their TiVo username and password.
HBO, Showtime and TiVo are all largely dependent on their relationships with cable MSOs but all three companies are now trying to ride the cord cutting wave and tap into new subscribers who are interested in their specific product but not cable TV in general. The scenario I described above would help them appeal to cord cutters but show cable operators that they're not trying to displace them.
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