Cablefax The Magazine - March 2016 - 21

HBO Now
Launch Date: April 7, 2015 Subscriber count: HBO doesn't release
this information, but during Time Warner's fourth quarter earnings call,
CEO Richard Plepler said the service has about 800,000 paying subs.
Subscription cost: $14.99 per month Headquarters: NYC
Why? HBO's decision to launch a direct-to-consumer service
opened the SVOD fl oodgates. Other networks, including rival premium
net Showtime, followed suit. This wasn't just a launch. It was
a movement, with Twitter and the web going crazy a few years ago
with the hashtag #TakeMyMoneyHBO in the hopes of pressuring
the network to offer a standalone HBO Go streaming service (the
website takemymoneyhbo.com is still up and running). The net is hopeful new original content-including
" Vinyl " and the upcoming Jon Stewart show-will drive more subscriptions. It's also focused on getting carriage
through Sony Playstation and Xbox. " I think we're going to make a lot of progress as we put new content on and
get onto new platforms, " HBO CEO Richard Plepler said during parent Time Warner's fourth quarter earnings call.
MLB.TV
Launch date: Aug. 26, 2002
Subscription count: Not given
Subscription cost: Premium, $109.99 annual
subscription (includes free access to MLB.com
At Bat app premium features). Single Team
Package, $84.99 annual subscription; choose
one team and watch only that team's games all
season
Headquarters: NYC
Why? As the oldest SVOD channel on our list,
MLB.TV has learned what it takes to keep viewers
coming back each season. That's mainly a
lot of baseball, with ever improving interfaces.
New for 2016 will be 60 frames per second HD
live streaming on supported devices and a new
Apple TV app demo'd at an Apple event this past
September. There's one catch to MLB.TV-fans
can't watch a local team's live games via MLB.TV in
market (whether the team is playing at home or away)
as it's strictly an out-of-market service. If that restriction
ever is lifted, MLB.TV will hit a grand slam with fans.
But in the real world of broadcast rights, this SVOD
app continues to be a gold standard for sports leagues
looking to move into the online world.
Seeso
Launch date: Jan. 7, 2016 (beta launched Dec 3, 2015) Subscription cost: $3.99
Subscription count: Not given Headquarters: NYC
Why? Seeso is the newest kid on the block for our list, but we think NBCU's Digital Enterprises EVP
Evan Shapiro and his team may be on to something by focusing on funny. Funny videos and the clips
of " The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon " are viral mainstays, so why not cultivate that into an SVOD
channel? It's interesting that even as " Big Bang Theory " remains one of the biggest shows in TV
today, much of the OTT space is focused on dramatic television. Seeso hopes to set itself apart by expert curation
of humor with exclusive originals (plus, an extensive library of classics and current NBC programming). New shows
launching this month include " Bajillion Dollar Propertie$, " a spoof of Bravo's " Million Dollar Listing, " and " NY's Funniest, "
a doc-series about hundreds of young NYC Comics vying to be the funniest in New York.
Cablefax: The Magazine
March 2016
cablefaxmag.com
21

http://www.takemymoneyhbo.com http://www.MLB.TV http://www.MLB.com http://www.MLB.TV http://www.MLB.TV http://www.MLB.TV http://www.cablefaxmag.com

Cablefax The Magazine - March 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Cablefax The Magazine - March 2016