HBO set to expand online overseas
August 5, 2014
HBO is planning to expand its online service to countries where it doesn’t see much in the way of sales through traditional cable subscriptions.
The premium cable network, which has offered itself via the Web in Nordic nations since 2012, is considering a similar option for countries such as Japan and Turkey that have healthy broadband access, WSJ reports, citing sources familiar with the matter. The service would not require customers to subscribe to the cable network.
With subscriber growth slowing in the US, the company’s attention on overseas markets couldbe a necessary strategy shift. HBO offers channels in some 60 countries and licenses its programming in others. But in many nations, the company has no channels or makes little money from traditional subscribers.