HBO now $18?

[syphix]

I remember paying $10/month for ONE HBO channel back in the 1970s.

You make a good point. For $18/month, you get nine channels, plus on demand, plus HBO GO. Not a bad deal, really, if you like what they offer.

 

[Yespage]

You make a good point. For $18/month, you get nine channels, plus on demand, plus HBO GO. Not a bad deal, really, if you like what they offer.

Not as much of a good point. Back then there were very very few channels. Movies on OTA television were far and few in between. Granted, $10 in the 70's probably equates to a much higher number now, but it was a very rare service.

These days, many many channels offers movies. The quality of HBO programming is very high, but $18 a month is a bit steep. You get HBOGO, which makes your dollar travel much further, but still... it is a bit to pay for the same movies on how many ever channels you get with HBO. The repetition isn't as bad as Epix, but there are a limited number of movies. Of course, I've been finding that most channels are unwatchable these days. It seems like its HBO, Cartoon, Hub, Boomerang, FSC, TCM, or nothing.

 

[Kraven]

No way i'd pay 18$ a month for HBO. However, 18$ won't get in the way of my GF watching True Blood...... the irony.

Cheers, K

 

[minkbarn]

When you consider that there's no way Dish would offer HBO at half price unless they're making a profit at that level, full price of $18 is ridiculous.

HBO is welcome to see what the market will bear. If enough people are willing to pay that much it makes sense businesswise. I won't be one of them.

I love Game of Thrones, but won't overpay for that or any other program.

 

[king3pj]

You make a good point. For $18/month, you get nine channels, plus on demand, plus HBO GO. Not a bad deal, really, if you like what they offer.

In addition to what Yespage said, the 9 channels don't mean as much if you have a DVR. If you don't have a DVR 9 options are much better than one. The themed channels like HBO Zone and HBO Family do offer some variety but basically every movie on any of the HBO channels could have been recorded from the main channel at some point. I do like having all the extra channels for flexibility and the fact that they show movies that may not have been on the main channel for a long time. I don't consider them 9 different channels that are worth $18 though.

 

[The Fat Man]

You make a good point. For $18/month, you get nine channels, plus on demand, plus HBO GO. Not a bad deal, really, if you like what they offer.

You really get 7 channels with repeats of HBO and HBO2 (West Coast). Then out of those 7 one is a 90% Spanish language repeat of the main HBO channel.

Which brings me back to a point I brought up a year and a half ago, and wound up starting a wildfire. But HBO Latino should be either a la carte or in the Spanish packages. Really, I who don't speak Spanish and have no desire to, shouldn't be required to pay the somewhere between 40 extra cents to the dollar they charge for it. Charge me $17 for the other six, or give me an option for a Cinemax channel as compensation. 5 Star Max would be perfect (no late night programming).

I'll be called a racist once again, but I must say HBO Latino is one reason I don't pay for HBO. I shouldn't have to pay more for a service in a language I don't speak. Put it in a package for those who speak that language.

 

[mike1977]

HBO (+ its Cinemax channels) is the only real true major premium channel network left, with no on screen displays.

I do not like nor support paying for premium channels and still seeing snipes, distracting channel logo bugs, and end credit interruptions. The line has to be drawn somewhere, and with me...it's no on screen displays during the programming and a guarantee you can listen to the end credit music to a movie...NO EXCEPTIONS...PERIOD. Because if you allow it, you'll have a channel bug cover a subtitle translation when an actor is speaking a foreign language...which I have witnessed on Starz...and it'll just get worse, with it happening more and more.

Now if it's $18+ and HBO decided to degrade the premium experience with the on screen crap everyone else is doing...then yeah...it would definitely be too much.

 

[The Fat Man]

HBO (+ its Cinemax channels) is the only real true major premium channel network left, with no on screen displays.

I do not like nor support paying for premium channels and still seeing snipes, distracting channel logo bugs, and end credit interruptions. The line has to be drawn somewhere, and with me...it's no on screen displays during the programming and a guarantee you can listen to the end credit music to a movie...NO EXCEPTIONS...PERIOD. Because if you allow it, you'll have a channel bug cover a subtitle translation when an actor is speaking a foreign language...which I have witnessed on Starz...and it'll just get worse, with it happening more and more.

Now if it's $18+ and HBO decided to degrade the premium experience with the on screen crap everyone else is doing...then yeah...it would definitely be too much.

I have to agree on that. EPIX used to be the worst with it's lengthy bug to visit the website to see more content.

 

[king3pj]

HBO (+ its Cinemax channels) is the only real true major premium channel network left, with no on screen displays.

I do not like nor support paying for premium channels and still seeing snipes, distracting channel logo bugs, and end credit interruptions. The line has to be drawn somewhere, and with me...it's no on screen displays during the programming and a guarantee you can listen to the end credit music to a movie...NO EXCEPTIONS...PERIOD. Because if you allow it, you'll have a channel bug cover a subtitle translation when an actor is speaking a foreign language...which I have witnessed on Starz...and it'll just get worse, with it happening more and more.

Now if it's $18+ and HBO decided to degrade the premium experience with the on screen crap everyone else is doing...then yeah...it would definitely be too much.

I agree for the most part. I am watching a DVR recording of Friday the 13th from EPIX HD and there hasn't been a single on screen graphic since the movie started playing though. It appears EPIX has cleaned up their act.

Edit: scratch that. About 2/3 of the way through the movie the EPIX logo came up for about 30 seconds. That was the only time though and that's not too bad.

 

[Mojo Jojo]

I wish that the Spanish channels would have SAP for English audio; it would be great.

 

[GaryPen]

I may have missed it in the many pages of this thread. But, did HBO and Dish go through any contract negotiations recently? Or, is this just an arbitrary price increase on Dish's part?

 

[dangue]

I may have missed it in the many pages of this thread. But, did HBO and Dish go through any contract negotiations recently? Or, is this just an arbitrary price increase on Dish's part?

No one has been able to present any evidence one way or another. It's all just speculation at this point.

 

[MikeD-C05]

I think that HBO will find their subscriptions dropping after their latest price hike. I think that they have crossed the line of diminishing returns. You can only get away with charging for your content so much, and I think that line was already crossed when they went up to $16.00 for most people. Now charging $18.00 is over kill. You might as well say $20.00 ,because not many people are going to line up to pay $18.00. Like I stated before I stopped subbing to HBO for full price back after their last price hike at $16.00. IF DISH hadn't offered 1/2 price premium or FREE 3 months for HBO , I wouldn't of watched them at all last summer.

 

[rajmarie]

I think that HBO will find their subscriptions dropping after their latest price hike. I think that they have crossed the line of diminishing returns. You can only get away with charging for your content so much, and I think that line was already crossed when they went up to $16.00 for most people. Now charging $18.00 is over kill. You might as well say $20.00 ,because not many people are going to line up to pay $18.00. Like I stated before I stopped subbing to HBO for full price back after their last price hike at $16.00. IF DISH hadn't offered 1/2 price premium or FREE 3 months for HBO , I wouldn't of watched them at all last summer.

I guess HBO has done their study. IMO...quite a few will stick...& some like me will probably sub for a period of time in the year only...& then use if possible to DVR the other shows or hbogo to watch it....so HBO making their numbers...& probably they are saying at the end of the year...they might be same or get more.

But atleast HBO IMO have more quality shows distributed through out the year. Starz, Showtime (except Homeland) have nothing...& I will not pay anything for them.

 

[Teehar]

Is there any proof that HBO raised to $18?Or was it Dish?

 

[Skee7ix]

I think Dish, becasue on DirecTv is still 15.99

 

[Skee7ix]

You really get 7 channels with repeats of HBO and HBO2 (West Coast). Then out of those 7 one is a 90% Spanish language repeat of the main HBO channel.

Which brings me back to a point I brought up a year and a half ago, and wound up starting a wildfire. But HBO Latino should be either a la carte or in the Spanish packages. Really, I who don't speak Spanish and have no desire to, shouldn't be required to pay the somewhere between 40 extra cents to the dollar they charge for it. Charge me $17 for the other six, or give me an option for a Cinemax channel as compensation. 5 Star Max would be perfect (no late night programming).

I'll be called a racist once again, but I must say HBO Latino is one reason I don't pay for HBO. I shouldn't have to pay more for a service in a language I don't speak. Put it in a package for those who speak that language.

Actually that is not racist.
I speak Spanish, is my first language, and I still don't watch HBO Latino, because is not the same, I like to watch the movie in it's original language. And if I want to watch it in Spanish, the other HBO channels have SAP as well, so HBO Latino is like a waste of channel for me, as well as the West feeds.

 

[harshness]

I remember paying $10/month for ONE HBO channel back in the 1970s.

I recall paying $12 for Showtime back when they promised not to play any movies older than three years and most of their interstitials were animated Canadian films instead of long-winded self promotions. I think it was the summer of 1977.

 

[dare2be]

I remember paying $10/month for ONE HBO channel back in the 1970s.

Now it's $18 for 9 channels that have the content of one channel. HBO Go is the only thing going for it. I'd only pay $18 for one month 3 times a year just to catch up on HBO content and shows.

 

[Tampa8]

I think Dish, becasue on DirecTv is still 15.99

So you are saying HBO's contract with Dish is the exact same timing as Direct TV?