AppleTV adds HBO GO!

At long last, HBO has decided to make their HBO GO service directly available on the AppleTV.

It's not a perfect situation - you still have to be a cable/satellite subscriber in order to access HBO GO - but it's a good first step.

I recently read that HBO and Netflix Instant are, essentially, the same company.

And to a certain extent, that's true.

Both HBO and Netflix are similarly-priced subscription services. Both provide access to certain previously-released movies.

Both companies also produce original content, and that original content has become a larger part of their value proposition in recent years.

For HBO, traditionally, all of that content has been provided on their TV channels. Then came HBO On Demand, which allowed viewers to access content at a time of their choosing.

And finally, HBO GO, which allowed on-demand streaming access to essentially everything HBO has ever done.

The Sopranos. The Wire. Eastbound & Down. Game of Thrones. It's really a fantastic list.

But while Netflix is available everywhere, to anyone willing to buy a subscription, HBO has only been available - and IS only available - to people who are already paying for a cable or satellite TV subscription.

That means that cord-cutters who want Game of Thrones have two options - wait until the DVDs go on sale, or hit BitTorrent.

Those cord-cutters would happily pay HBO's subscription fees for HBO GO - they just don't want to ALSO pay $65-75 for a monthly cable bill.

Well, that hasn't changed today. But prior to today, HBO was making AppleTV users jump through some strange hoops to get their content on the big screen.

Initially, HBO GO content could not be streamed to the AppleTV at all.  Later, iPad mirroring made it possible - you could stream your entire iPad's screen to the AppleTV. Still, a less than elegant solution.

(I'm not sure, but at some point, I believe that HBO allowed AirPlay streaming directly from within the iPad app. I'll look tonight.)

Now, the iPad won't be necessary at all. Just navigate to the HBO tile, and pick your show. Perfect.

Well, perfect for ME, because I'm a DirecTV subscriber and can access HBO GO. Less than perfect for cord-cutters.

But regardless, one step closer to the day that HBO becomes available as an individual subscription.