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Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

People seem to love HBO's "Game of Thrones" and "Girls." But maybe not that much if they have to pay to watch them [cnet.com].

HBO Now, the premium channel's online-only subscription service, was expected to be a big hit with people who are cutting back on cable subscriptions, but adoption of the new service for now looks to be underwhelming. The channel's CEO mentioned on a call with analysts Wednesday that HBO Now has brought in about 800,000 subscribers so far, well below the lofty predictions for the service.

With Wall Street expectations as high as 2 million subscribers [fiercecable.com], HBO chief Richard Plepler was forced on the defensive.
...
HBO Now launched in April amid expectations that more consumers are dropping or cutting back on their cable packages and instead cobbling together their daily video entertainment with online options like YouTube and Netflix. Hoping to entice these so-called cord-cutters and perhaps tamp down online piracy of its shows, HBO came out with the standalone service for $15 a month, the same price as with a cable subscription. The fact that HBO Now isn't growing as fast as expected could mean that major shift in consumer habits is moving slower than predicted, or perhaps HBO isn't as popular with cord-cutters as many thought.

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