As HBO’s new standalone streaming service launches today exclusively on Apple TV and iOS devices, FastCompany has a story profiling HBO CEO Richard Plepler and the motivation behind the new service and partnership with Apple.
In the story, Plepler denies that an $80 billion bid to buy Time Warner encouraged the launch of HBO Now and explains that he had already reached out to Apple executive Jimmy Iovine, who he had worked for previously at Warner Music:
Plepler had done PR for Iovine years earlier, at Warner Music. Iovine had sold Beats, the headphone business he owned with Dr. Dre, to Apple in May, for $3 billion. Plepler asked if Iovine thought Apple would be interested in being the lead distributor of HBO Now. Iovine didn’t hesitate: “I think that’s the shit,” he said… Plepler explained that he needed a distributor, and that HBO Now would be ready by the spring (when Game of Thrones’ season 5 would bow). Cue tells me that he wanted to do the deal with HBO “the next day.”
While Apple works on its next generation Apple TV product, as we reported in March, the company has continued to regularly add more content to the service and is reportedly negotiating with content providers for a new upcoming streaming service.
The full story on FastCompany has more insight into the new HBO Now service and Plepler’s plans for the service. The new HBO Now service is available now on Apple TV, iPhone, and iPad for $14.99/month with a 30-day free trial.
