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People that are pirating the show aren't willing to pay. If they were then they'd be subscribed to HBO.

by mmuro 14y ago

axiak 14y ago
Maybe they don't have TVs/cable?
- jgeorge 14y ago
  I don't have cable/satellite. The minimum monthly cost to obtain HBO for me is about $45/month for basic cable, HBO, and a DVR option. My GF is completely addicted to Game of Thrones, but she openly admits she will not pay $540/year for basically a single season of a show. All the "but look at all the other content you get" arguments are null, if I were interested in any of that other content, I'd already be paying for it. But we're not. She can torrent it now and watch it when she likes for free. While she will undoubtedly go buy the DVDs when they're released (she always does), the incentive to watch it "now" as it's being broadcast is worth some amount of money $0<n<$540 for her. I really don't buy the argument that HBOGo wouldn't make any money if they charged $15/mo for streaming-only access. Nearly everyone I know (none of whom have cable/satellite and HBO now) would gladly pay that price or even marginally higher.
mdhen 14y ago
If they have cable, and they're pirating - you would be correct. It would however be incorrect to assume that someone who doesn't want to pay 80 dollars a month before being allowed to pay for HBO would pirate it if given the chance to just pay for HBO directly.
cheshire137 14y ago
Some folks are willing to pay for exactly what they want, but they're not willing to pay an additional amount to get content they don't care about. Same thing that happened with the music industry: people don't want all the filler bullshit on some albums, they just want the hot single. Let folks buy a single MP3 and they will, or they'll pirate if you only provide the entire album for sale.
- mmuro 14y ago
  Some folks are willing to pay for exactly what they want, but they're not willing to pay an additional amount to get content they don't care about. You have the option of buying the DVDs or through iTunes. Using your analogy, they can buy the entire album or a single track. If a band played some new songs at a concert, you'd have to wait until they made it on an album...unless someone records them and releases them for free. Andy Ihnatko nails it: http://ihnatko.com/2012/02/20/heavy-hangs-the-bandwidth-that-torrents-the-crown/ http://ihnatko.com/2012/02/20/heavy-hangs-the-bandwidth-that...
  - loudmax 14y ago
    From Andy Ihnatko's blog: But — umm — the release date is only, like, two or three weeks away. Two or three weeks away would fine. Two or three months would be okay too. GoT season 1 finished airing in June 2011, and didn't come until out on DVD until March 2012.
moron 14y ago
I think the idea was that those people are willing to pay directly for the show, as opposed to paying for a subscription.

People that are pirating the show aren't willing to pay. If they were then they'd be subscribed to HBO.

by mmuro 14y ago

People that are pirating the show aren't willing to pay. If they were then they'd be subscribed to HBO.

axiak 14y ago

Maybe they don't have TVs/cable?

jgeorge 14y ago
I don't have cable/satellite. The minimum monthly cost to obtain HBO for me is about $45/month for basic cable, HBO, and a DVR option. My GF is completely addicted to Game of Thrones, but she openly admits she will not pay $540/year for basically a single season of a show. All the "but look at all the other content you get" arguments are null, if I were interested in any of that other content, I'd already be paying for it. But we're not. She can torrent it now and watch it when she likes for free. While she will undoubtedly go buy the DVDs when they're released (she always does), the incentive to watch it "now" as it's being broadcast is worth some amount of money $0<n<$540 for her. I really don't buy the argument that HBOGo wouldn't make any money if they charged $15/mo for streaming-only access. Nearly everyone I know (none of whom have cable/satellite and HBO now) would gladly pay that price or even marginally higher.

mdhen 14y ago

If they have cable, and they're pirating - you would be correct. It would however be incorrect to assume that someone who doesn't want to pay 80 dollars a month before being allowed to pay for HBO would pirate it if given the chance to just pay for HBO directly.

cheshire137 14y ago

Some folks are willing to pay for exactly what they want, but they're not willing to pay an additional amount to get content they don't care about. Same thing that happened with the music industry: people don't want all the filler bullshit on some albums, they just want the hot single. Let folks buy a single MP3 and they will, or they'll pirate if you only provide the entire album for sale.

mmuro 14y ago
Some folks are willing to pay for exactly what they want, but they're not willing to pay an additional amount to get content they don't care about. You have the option of buying the DVDs or through iTunes. Using your analogy, they can buy the entire album or a single track. If a band played some new songs at a concert, you'd have to wait until they made it on an album...unless someone records them and releases them for free. Andy Ihnatko nails it: http://ihnatko.com/2012/02/20/heavy-hangs-the-bandwidth-that-torrents-the-crown/ http://ihnatko.com/2012/02/20/heavy-hangs-the-bandwidth-that...
- loudmax 14y ago
  From Andy Ihnatko's blog: But — umm — the release date is only, like, two or three weeks away. Two or three weeks away would fine. Two or three months would be okay too. GoT season 1 finished airing in June 2011, and didn't come until out on DVD until March 2012.

moron 14y ago

I think the idea was that those people are willing to pay directly for the show, as opposed to paying for a subscription.