HBO Now for Android could come when Apple’s 3 month exclusivity period ends
In case you weren’t watching yesterday’s Apple press conference, the company cut out a slot of time to talk about Apple TV. A pretty big announcement was made — HBO Now, a cord cutter’s dream. It brings all of the big studio’s best content without having to be tied to cable service.
This is the first major cable television channel that is offering its full, up-to-date library of content without having to get it through a cable provider’s subscription. It’s $14.99 per month — a bit on the pricy side, but the typical $7.99 packages available through cable are likely to be subsidized by whatever deals the two sides have in place — and it’ll give you on-demand access to HBO’s award-winning television shows new and old, as well as whatever movies are currently in the company’s rotations.
Sounds great, yeah? There’s just one problem: it’s tied to a very exclusive group of folks to start. Apple is HBO’s exclusive launch partner for HBO Now, so if you don’t have an iOS device or an Apple TV then you won’t be able to play ball just yet.
The period of exclusivity lasts 3 months, according to Engadget. An expiration date on the deal means there’s a high chance HBO will eventually make it available for anyone and everyone willing to throw $15 per month their way. We’d hope that would eventually mean we’ll see its arrival on Android.
Surprise Google I/O announcement for Android TV and Chromecast users? We’d hope so, and the event does conveniently take place just before that 3-month window expires. But no matter the venue or date an announcement is made, we’re hoping HBO and Apple won’t decide to continue to play keep away once the deal expires and let those of us who decide to use other platforms in on the fun (because decent human beings shouldn’t let other decent human beings go without season 5 of Game of Thrones).
[via iSource]