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theprof00 on 12 March 2015
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sc94597 said:
theprof00 said:
sc94597 said:
theprof00 said:

which is where net neutrality comes in.

Net Neutrality would only come in if a download was blocked.  You can still download and use the app if you have a  HBO subscription, which isn't through Comcast. Comcast is just refusing to allow their television subscribers to use their subscription which comcast sellsto  them, in the app by not putting the account information in as an option. The word, "block" was a misnomer. 

Apologies. I read the rest of the thread and your points.

My question though is why isn't Comcast on the list.

Because they chose not to be. Just as HBO's standalone service won't be coming to PS4 (only for Apple devices) so did Comcast pick and choose which devices they want their subscription service to be on. I think it is a stupid business decision, because sales of their crappy boxes probably won't be anywhere enough to make up the loss of customers, but I guess they feel their consumer base is more inelastic than it really is. Having said that, I still think it is a competitive market. As the article noted, Verizon, Time Warner, AT&T, etc, etc support all HBO GO platforms. 

Well, I assume it's because Comcast wants to sell more subscriptions to their premium channel set. With HBOgo I can go to a friend's house and stream onto their tv from my app without necessitating a localized sub. In that way, I can have HBO in two places at once, and I don't think Comcast likes that idea.

And yeah, I think it's a bad decision as well, because if I had HBOgo available, I might actually be inclined to purchase an HBO subscription, whereas currently I have no plans to do so. So in trying to control "pirating" they're only hurting their own sales. This doesn't reflect a modern business approach on comcast's part.