HBO is finalising plans to launch a standalone video streaming service in Spain by the end of the year, reports Bloomberg, citing HBO CEO Richard Plepler. Although piracy is very common in Spain, the country also has high levels of broadband-only homes without a pay-TV subscription. HBO will retain the exclusive rights to its shows for its streaming service and will no longer license its programming to pay-TV services in the country, said the report, with Plepler suggesting it can make even more money long-term by offering its own streaming service. “We follow the money. We’re making a determination of where we think the most profits lie,” he said.
HBO would have to compete with Telefonica’s Movistar+ pay-TV service and Netflix, which launched in October with commercial offers such as six months free subscription to Vodafone Spain customers. HBO already offers a web-only channel in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark called HBO Nordic and it recently unveiled a standalone online service in Colombia, with plans to expand it across Latin America.
