HBO is about to give those living in the Nordic countries what customers in the United States have wanted for months: a standalone video streaming service that doesn't require a premium cable subscription.
HBO announced this week that it will partner with Parsifal International to launch an online-only video channel called HBO Nordic in mid-October, which will work on any Internet-connected device. Unlike HBO Go in the U.S., customers in Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway will be able to subscribe to the service without having to sign up for cable or satellite TV.
HBO Nordic will cost $12.50 a month and gives subscribers access to all seasons of hit shows like Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones and True Blood, as well as older shows like The Wire and full-length movies. What's more, HBO is partnering with Samsung so that an app for HBO Nordic will come as a default on Samsung smartphones sold in these four countries.
Earlier this month, Netflix announced that it would expand its video streaming service to the four Nordic countries, so this move is clearly HBO's way of going on the offensive. Perhaps if this business model takes off in countries abroad, HBO will be more open to adopting a similar model in the U.S.