[opendtv] Bewkes: Apple Will ‘Elevate’ HBO Now | Multichannel

From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: OpenDTV Mail List <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 11 Mar 2015 04:48:43 -0400
http://www.multichannel.com/news/ott/bewkes-apple-will-elevate-hbo-now/388741

Bewkes: Apple Will ‘Elevate’ HBO Now

A day after its Home Box Office announced more detailed plans for its 
long-awaited direct-to-consumer offering dubbed HBO Now, Time Warner chairman 
and CEO Jeff Bewkes said partnering with Apple TV on the product will help 
“elevate” it in the eyes of consumers.

HBO first announced its plans for an over-the-top version of the product in 
October. At an Apple news event  in Cupertino, Calif., yesterday, HBO chairman 
Richard Plepler said the OTT product -- HBO Now – would be first available 
exclusively for three months to customers of Apple TV. Apple said it has sold 
about 25 million Apple TV devices to date, but that could grow as the company 
said it will reduce the price of the device from $99 to $69.

At the Deutsche Bank Media, Internet & Telecom conference in Palm Beach, Fla., 
Bewkes said Apple was selected for its marketing prowess and its standing among 
young consumers.

“They [Apple] are so good, they’re so energetic at marketing, they have such a 
strong position in global users, all those connected devices, the marketing and 
retail communication they have with hundreds of millions of people,” Bewkes 
said at the conference. “We thought that was a good partner to elevate HBO Now 
and get the value of HBO out there. ”

HBO Now is targeted initially at the 10 million broadband only homes across the 
country (5 million of whom have some kind of content subscription), but Bewkes 
said the goal is to capture customers beyond that group. As in the past, he 
pointed to the 70 million pay TV homes without an HBO subscription, of which he 
said 10 million to 15 million are primary candidates for premium channels like 
HBO.

 “It’s clear this is a product that can enjoy much more viewership and loyalty 
if it was offered well and promoted correctly,” Bewkes said.

While some distributors – particularly smaller ones – have griped that HBO Now 
could cannibalize their customer base, Bewkes said their reaction for the most 
part has been favorable for the product.

“Mostly there is excitement and the realization of our distributors that all of 
us together have to go further in VOD packages and marketing, including 
broadband only for those that want to do that,” Bewkes said. “If you’re 
weighting it by subs and money, most of our distributors are on board with us 
and they are going to push it. We have some that think that it is competitive 
with them and that they wish that they could have maintained the sole place to 
get HBO. But we’ve been telling them for quite a while, that they have to get 
ready so they have the capability to offer this on VOD and offer this on 
broadband. We think that we’ve done what we can and we will continue to that.”

He added that he believes that even those critics “will come around because 
it’s in their interest to take this powerful product and sell it in every way 
that their consumers want to get it. They simply have to be more vigorous about 
it.”
[opendtv] Bewkes: Apple Will ‘Elevate’ HBO Now | Multichannel

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