HBO Now Geo-Locked to US Limits Growth

HBO Now will be available in the United States. Most Game of Thrones pirates, however, are outside the country.

HBO leads the promotion of its new streaming service “HBO Now” with Game of Thrones. It makes a lot of sense since Game of Thrones broke the download record at BitTorrent last year. Game of Throne, however, is widely pirated overseas. Australia has topped the downloaders list for the premiere episode of the 4th season of Game of Thrones according to a report on TorrentFreak.

Australia topped the US, and UK was at 3rd. Closely behind the UK are Canada, the Netherlands, Philippines, and India.

A paid online streaming service that offers Game of Thrones episodes when the premiere paired with an easy to use interface and reliable quality of service is the most effective way to convert freeloaders into paying customers. HBO Now could pull it off, but a US-only strategy is going to limit the growth of HBO Now in a considerable way.

I certainly see the movie licensing deals for international markets an issue for HBO to roll out HBO Now streaming to other countries. HBO could, though, launch an HBO Now original service at a lower price point that just offers HBO’s own shows, including Game of Thrones, True Blood, Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, and more.

HBO Now service will be available exclusively on the Apple TV box and Apple devices for $14.99 per month. HBO Now will launch in time for the premiere of the 5th season of Game of Thrones on April 12.

Apple supports the HBO Now launch with reducing the price of the Apple TV box to $69.

Via the HBO Now app, subscribers can also watch HBO Now on iPhones, iPads and the iPod touch. The first month of HBO Now is free, without a long-term contract commitment.