HBO's Bold Broadband Plans
Just about every TV network worth its satellite transponders has rushed to the Internet in recent months. Thanks to the out-of-nowhere popularity of YouTube and the proliferation of broadband, all kinds of shows are popping up on the Web, from Lost on ABC.com to Fox's The OC on MySpace, owned by Fox parent News Corp.
Conspicuously absent from that list: Home Box Office, Time Warner's multi-Emmy-winning premium cable service. But that won't be true for long, say sources in media and technology. And if HBO takes on the Internet presence expected in the coming months, it could cause no small dustup with some of HBO's biggest customers—namely the cable and satellite companies that charge fees for beaming HBO movies and shows such as The Sopranos and Entourage into America's homes.
HBO executives have been hashing out the details of what they will offer online, and a spokesman says no formal decision has been made. But programming will almost certainly be offered via a subscription service, much like the mixture of HBO movies and original fare such as The Wire, Deadwood, and Big Love now offered by cable and satellite operators for a monthly fee of $10 to $12 or more.
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