HBO has been creating stellar programming for decades, from The Sopranos to Game of Thrones, and their new docket of shows looks to continue that tradition (The Newsroom, anyone?), not to mention their knack for playing great movies all day every day. No matter how much we love them, there’s still something that irks us: Why can’t we watch HBO content online without owning a cable box?

HBO’s choice to remain a subscription based channel has offered them the opportunity to put huge budgets behind their original shows & mini-series. The subscription fees provide an additional source of income (more than $224 million) that the non-cable networks like ABC, NBC, & CBS lack. HBO is able to focus on the product they are putting forward, while the other networks are busy trying to secure advertisements to ensure that their programming stays on the air. While we understand why HBO has been resistant toward making their content available elsewhere, there is room for improvement. We would like to propose an amendment to HBO: Please offer HBOGO as an online only subscription service.

HBOGO launched in February of 2010 as a way for subscribers of the channel to watch content on-the-go. The network offers HBOGO to all subscribers free of charge. The app is now available for download to almost any smartphone & the service offers hundreds of hours of content including movies, documentaries, comedy specials & their distinctly successful original programming. HBOGO was a smart move for the network, but now we think it’s time for them to take the next step & reach out to the masses. We’re not suggesting they remove, or even lower the cost to subscribe to their channels; We are simply requesting the option to be an HBOGO subscriber only. For a separate fee, HBO should allow viewers to access only the online portion of their service.

This seems like the logical next step for HBO. Rather than make their content available to other companies (i.e. Netflix or iTunes) to sell, they should simply release their material on their own website for a small fee. It has become commonplace for people to abandon the traditional ways of watching television & opt for less expensive options. With companies like Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and iTunes providing unique ways for people to watch their favorite shows sans cable, there is less & less reason for the continued expense of paying for the cable box. Cutting out the box also means that there is no way to subscribe to premium channels like HBO, therefore eliminating the only way to watch their original programming until it comes out on DVD & Blu-ray.

Dedicated fans may say that buying a subscription to the channel is well worth the joy they get from watching their favorite shows on their original airdates, but for those that cannot afford it, don’t have cable at all, or simply don’t think the overall value outweighs the cost, watching shows online is the only option. Since HBO already offers the service for free to its subscribers, we don’t see why they couldn’t create even more profit from a much desired online-only service. Plus, adding new viewers could only help their bottom dollar.

Now, we’re no business experts, but it seems that providing the online-only option would create additional income that would not have to be shared with the cable providers that HBO does business with in order to distribute their network. One hundred percent of the profit would go to HBO & could become a real asset.

For example: In order to add the HBO package to a cable bundle, it usually costs somewhere around $15 a month for the consumer. Somewhere around half of that $15 goes to the cable company as their cost for promoting & offering HBO to their customers. Now, we’re sure that most people wouldn’t scoff at paying $10-15 a month for an HBOGO online-only subscription, and the profits wouldn’t be split. HBO could then use that money to create more groundbreaking series like Game of Thrones.

What do you think? Would you be interested in an HBO online-only subscription? What would you be willing to pay for this service?

Thanks to Ben Rubin for the above photo illustrations!