Exclusive: HBO OTT Service Likely To Include Turner, Warner Entertainment Content

The new HBO over-the-top streaming service is set to launch in 2015 and there haven't been a lot of details revealed publicly about what to expect. It's being described as a "premium" service and it will include the entire HBO lineup of TV shows and movies. But there's been no price announced for the service and it hasn't been clear what other content might be available to subscribers.

But following several background interviews this weekend with people familiar with the scope of the new service, the overall parameters of the product are becoming clear. And if the details are correct, this new service promises to be a substantial force in the SVOD space.

As has been reported, the HBO OTT service (which has a preliminary name I have been asked not to identify), will include all current HBO original programs as well as nearly all original documentaries and movies. The service will also include all the films HBO has licensed for use on its linear channel, with "a small number" of possible exceptions. There will also be an impressive selection of entire seasons of older HBO shows, although several catalog titles will be missing due to conflicting existing contracts. Those shows will move to the HBO service on a non-exclusive basis as they become available in the 4Q 2015 and early 2016.

The service will also include a sampling of titles from HBO's sister Cinemax channel, although there are conflicting reports about which shows will be included.

According to these sources, the service will also include a "substantial" number of television titles from the libraries of Time Warner, which owns HBO. The shows will include a number of original programs from the Turner Networks, including TNT, TBS and the Cartoon Network. Some titles will be exclusive to HBO OTT and other will also be available on rival SVOD platforms. There are also plans to include a "select" number of shows from  Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group. Many of the Turner titles will be new to the SVOD market.

The scope of the HBO OTT service has expanded substantially in recent weeks as Time Warner executives began to contemplate its future if the proposed merger with Comcast is not approved by regulators. That deal is seeming increasingly less likely and executives at Time Warner see this OTT service as a "gamechanger" for the company. While Comcast's huge cable assets have tied the company's future to its TV Everywhere Xfinity streaming platform, Time Warner spun off its cable assets in 2009. That separation makes it much easier for an HBO OTT service to become a true competitor to both existing SVOD services as well as TV Everywhere platforms.

Despite these ambitious plans, the parameters of the HBO OTT service can still change substantially before the launch. Time Warner has begun renegotiating and/or pulling content from Netflix and Amazon, which both have existing exclusive content deals with the company. In the case of Netflix, that means that the bulk of the Cartoon Network and Adult Swim programming added to the SVOD service under 2013 and 2014 deals will expire on April 1. Some Warner Brothers studio TV shows will also be expiring on the same date, although there is still the possibility of a new deal that gives Netflix non-exclusive access to the shows.

Sources also warn that much of the uncertainty depends on the ultimate resolution of the proposed Comcast/Time Warner deal. If the deal closes as planned, Comcast executives have already expressed their plans to scale back the scope of the service. But if Time Warner does remain independent, the new HBO OTT will include content spanning every part of the company.

The current plans also have the Warner Archive streaming service remaining an independent entity.

One of the main questions left to be decided is the monthly subscription costs of the service. Most of the internal Time Warner plans point to a price of between $13.99 and $15.99 per month.

Rick Ellis can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow him on Twitter at @aysrick.