New Report Examines Impact of HBO OTT Service

Parks Associates estimates that 17 percent of U.S. broadband homes are likely to subscribe to HBO's stand-alone OTT service, with the upcoming platform set to "create competitive challenges for all ecosystem players, including Netflix, Amazon and pay-TV providers."

The 360 View Update—Market Focus Consumer Segmentation: OTT Video Buyers report finds that of likely subscribers, 91 percent are currently pay-TV customers. Of those, half would cancel their pay-TV package if they sign up for HBO's stand-alone OTT.

“HBO picked a good time to announce its standalone HBO Go OTT service in the U.S.,” said Glenn Hower, research analyst at Parks Associates. “The percentage of subscribers interested in OTT video services is trending upward, and more industry players are planning to launch their own OTT services. DISH announced at CES 2015 that its OTT service, Sling TV, will include live TV such as CNN, ESPN, ESPN2, TNT and TBS. Sports programming could be a major addition for standalone OTT services, as sports is one of the primary reasons consumers elect to keep pay-TV services.”http://worldscreen.com/articles/display/2015-01-23-hbo-go-ott-parks-report