A new announcement from HBO shows intentions to provide an independent streaming service for online customers next year. Showing their intentions to move away from pay-TV bundle, which has been a strong foundation to the television era. Richard Plepler, HBO Chief Executive, made a statement on the development at Time Warner Inc.’s investor day in New York. – The HBO service is only available for subscribers of pay-TV packages. But HBO are becoming forced to change according to the development in audience behavior. The company is working hard on not being left behind in a new internet era, where most entertainment is consumed online.

Plepler did not go into details regarding the independent HBO service, but made promises of going big investment and going “over-the-top” to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in additional revenue. ”There is a huge opportunity in front of us” Plepler said, stating that there are around 80 million homes in the United States who do not own any HBO services. “That is a large and growing opportunity that should no longer be let untapped” Plepler stated. “It’s time to remove all barriers to those who want HBO”. Plepler continued with – “So, in 2015, we will launch a stand-alone, over-the-top, HBO service in the United States”. By making this announcement, HBO is proving that they are making efforts to keep up with competitors such as Netflix and Amazon, who have been the leaders in online video streaming.

As of today, HBO already offer a streaming service, HBO Nordic, available to Scandinavian customers. In addition to this, the company plans to expand their service in other international markets.