HBO expands SVOD service in Europe

HBO Go has launched as a direct-to-consumer service in four central European countries.

The premium programmer’s streaming service is available from today without a separate pay TV subscription in Hungary, Romania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

HBO said that HBO Go would continue to be available through local distribution partners. However, consumers in the four countries will now be able to sign up for the OTT TV subscription video-on-demand service separately and view content via computers, smartphones, tablets, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung smart TVs and on PlayStation.

Each HBO Go subscriber may add up to five devices and use two concurrent streams at the same time. All new subscribers who choose this option will have a one-month free trial for the premium content offered by HBO Go. The subscription fee will be paid via credit card provided while registering.

The move means that viewers in the central European countries will be able to view content including Game of Thrones (pictured), Westworld and Silicon Valley as well as locally-sourced shows such as Shadows, Silent Valley (Romania), Burning Bush, Wasteland (Czech Republic) and Golden Life (Hungary) and a selection of documentaries.

“HBO Go via affiliates is already a huge success in Central Europe, but our goal is to make it even easier for the many series lovers in these countries to access HBO’s premium content. The launch of HBO Go direct to consumers in Central Europe is a natural step for us after successful launches of HBO streaming services in Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland”, said Hervé Payan, CEO HBO Europe.

HBO Go is available through a number of affiliates in the four countries, including Liberty Global and RCS&RDS in Romania. Last year, Liberty Global-owned UPC Czech Republic made HBO Go available to internet customers without a TV subscription.

HBO has also been rolling out SVOD services in Latin America this year.