Comcast, Roku & HBO Go

I looked for it some time ago on DirecTv, but it was not listed on the ROKU site as a provider. DISH was there, however.

A lot of providers have decided not to support the ROKU for HBO Go because ROKU targets and advertises itself so much as a way to ditch your pay-TV subscription. They think supporting ROKU can hurt them in the long run, and they might be right.

It wouldn't suprise me if eventually HBO, Showtime, Starz, etc. start offering subscriptions directly to customers through devices like the ROKU, and your computer, and bypass the Pay-TV providers altogether. The Pay-TV providers obviously don't want to help speed that up by getting people used to using the ROKU now.

It may not be a lot of providers, but it's certainly a lot of subscribers. I'm fairly certain that if HBO offers Go without requiring a cable/satellite subscription that I will dump that service and go exclusively with HBO Go. Seems like Directv and Comcast may be playing a game of chicken with HBO, Seems to me that HBO holds more cards, I guess we'll see in time.

The thing is, to watch HBO GO on my iPad, I must login with my Comcast ID to validate that I subscribe to HBO, so it's not like someone who doesn't get HBO on the TV can get HBO GO. So, what is the problem with requiring users to sign in on the Roku channel? Netflix does it; so does Amazon (for Prime).

HBO has stated that they don't foresee offering GO independently, because it would, in fact, compete with the cable networks. To me, it's just another example of Comcast throwing their weight around just because they can. Ridiculous, but what else would you expect from crappy Comcast?

aed

I'm curious to see if, at least for us Apple users, if the upcoming OSX redux (Mountain Lion) & it's ability to mirror anything on your Mac's monitor to an Apple TV box will finally allow full on AIrPlay compatibility w/ HBO Go. As it stands now, HBO Go via iOS device will only AirPlay the audio, not video, to ATV 2 or 3.

Being a Comcast customer, I can obviously get a decent amount of HBO programming OnDemand. However, HBO Go does open one up to having most everything HBO has ever aired available at the touch of a button/click of a mouse. Not having to watch it on a computer monitor or iPad screen would be nice.

As well, I would not be too surprised if some sort of subscription plan were to come about one day to allow non-cable/sat folks to pay for & access HBO. The cable/satco folks may not like it, but HBO might be better served by such a model, esp when one considers the reportedly massive amount of online piracy that occurs with HBO programming (thought I read that Game of Thrones is one of the web's most pirated TV shows).

Could be, although allowing Comcast programming via XBOX probably had some help from said game console's little software company's financial muscle. Not sure, though, why Comcast or DirecTv are so anti-Roku. It is not as if the Roku is actually stealing $$ from the providers - you still have to pay the provider for the HBO subscription.

Comcast could quash the issue by simply having all HBO GO programming available thru the normal cable box-delivered OnDemand system, thereby eliminating the need for Comcast subscribers to even use HBO Go unless outside the home via a tablet/smartphone/laptop.