HBO plans to go D2C in Spain. The report interestingly states “The broadcaster will retain the exclusive rights to its shows for its streaming service and will no longer license its programming to payTV services in the country, according to a report in Bloomberg, citing HBO CEO Richard Plepler.” 

The decision to jump the line & reach consumers directly would necessitate support for the service on relevant CE device eco-system. Will the cord nevers & cord cutters stick only to their mobile/tablet devices, or will hey want to watch it on their big screen television devices? Well back in 2014 TV viewers in Spain already started to demonstrate their increased affinity (20% YoY rise as per a study) to watch on demand content on Smart TV.

For more details, follow the news here at CSI Magazine (http://www.csimagazine.com/csi/HBO-introducing-Internet-only-channel-in-Spain.php)