HBO Go May Finally Allow Online Subscriptions while Encyclopaedia Britannica Considers Going Free

After three years, HBO may finally listen to its users and make it possible for consumers to subscriber directly to the cable channel’s online

After three years, HBO may finally listen to its users and make it possible for consumers to subscriber directly to the cable channel’s online video streaming platform, HBO Go. Meanwhile, Encyclopaedia Britannica is adopting an ad-supported model for its digital encyclopedia, even though subscriptions account for 75% of Britannica.com’s revenue.First the HBO Go development… Atthe 23rd annual Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference this week, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes said Time Warner is looking into offering HBO directly to consumers. Currently, only current cable subscribers who also subscribe to HBO can access the channel’s on-demand streaming video via HBO Go. However, HBO has been turning a blind eye to people who have been using friends and family’s login credentials to stream videos from additional IP addresses. And HBO also recently inked a deal to make its shows (both old and new) available via Amazon Prime. Perhaps the latter development sparked Time Warner to consider a solution that allows HBO to sell directly to consumers while still keeping Time Warner in the mix?HBO currently delivers its content to more than 32 million US households, and distribution partners like Time Warner contribute $5 billion to the pay-TV service’s bottom line in annual revenue.Meanwhile, Encyclopaedia Britannica is facing its industry’s disruption by considering an ad-supported model. Over the past few years, Britannica President Jorge Cauz has made almost 50% of the site’s articles free, down from the 80% of articles that were behind a paywall just two years ago.According to The Chicago Tribune, “Some 50,000 households pay $70 annually and an additional 450,000 get full access through distribution partners such as telecom companies and Internet providers, a subscriber base that has remained stable despite the chipping away of the pay wall.” But while there hasn’t been a significant decrease in subscribers, subscription revenu has fallen from 95% of Brittanica.com’s overall revenue two years ago to 75%. And Cauz expects that to drop more, mainly due to Wikipedia, and the new consumer expectation for free encyclopedic material.Britannica.com has been bouyed from spin-off products, like Britannica Schools and ImageQuest, and advertising is expected to generate about $13 million this year, up 70& from 2010.But if Britannica wants to make a volume play through ad-supported free content, it’s going to need to invest seriously in SEO. Right now, Encyclopaedia Britannica entries are often listed on page 2 of search results, and Wikipedia is almost always listed at the top.Britannica may also want to consider a freemium model, which would be a harder sell for Wikipedia. For example, consumers might be willing to pay a premium for a voice-activated app or citation software to make footnoting easier. But upsells have their best chance of raising significant revenues only after Britannica re-asserts its encyclopedic dominance through better SEO and overall Internet prominence. 

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