It's Not TV, It's HBO GO on Your Computer

It may seem a bit hypocritical to write about the initiatives of a movement called "TV Everywhere" when Tonic is dedicated to fighting obesity and encouraging everyone turn off their TVs and be more active. Nevertheless, HBO did not consult us before launching their new response to Netflix and Hulu today, so talk about HBO GO we shall.

With the emergence of high-speed Internet, smartphones, and hand-held video game consoles, cable companies have realized one main thing: viewers now have more forums than ever for watching their content. And they want to be able to watch whatever they want, wherever they want, and whenever they want. Cable-service subscribers don't want the expensive content they pay for as part of their monthly fee to be trapped behind their television screens. Services like Netflix, which offer instantaneous streaming onto your computer and now, with the advent of cable-top box add-ons like Vudu and Roku, allow subscribers to take their content from computer to television to video game console.

Now, HBO has jumped into the TV-on-the-Internet game with the just-announced portal HBO GO. First, the good news: "HBO touts the site as offering 600 hours of content, including movies that are cycling through HBO’s lineup, and current and former HBO TV programs. Among the video currently on offer: All 60 episodes of 'The Wire.'" Sounds great, right? I personally don't subscribe to premium channels like HBO, so I was initially very excited to hear that I could watch shows like the new How To Make It In America online.

Unfortunately, that's not entirely true for everyone. Since HBO GO is, after all, HBO (read: a premium channel, even on the Internet), it's behind a paywall. In order to access the site's content, you have to be a paid subscriber to certain cable companies. According to TechCrunch, the first people to have access to the site are those with Verizon FiOS. HBO has allowed for some loopholes in this system, however, "subscribers [can] share their access with friends and family members. HBO said it plans to allow three simultaneous users per subscribing household to watch using their Verizon passwords."

Although the news about HBO GO's launch is mixed because of its paywall, it is best to see TV Everywhere and this latest premium channel portal in a positive light. Network owners and cable companies are listening to the clamor for televised content to be made available on more multi-media devices and portals. HBO GO is a sleek, Flash-driven site, and yet another example of how HBO is and will always remain at the cutting edge of television — even when it's no longer on your TV.

Screengrab courtesy of HBOGO.com