"It's not TV, it's HBO."
HBO's longtime marketing slogan aside, soon there might not be any TV at all, at least in the traditional sense.
The premium cable channel's announcement earlier this week that it will offer an Internet-only streaming service sometime next year sent shock waves through the cable industry, cheered cord-cutters and sent rival Netflix's stock plummeting by 25 percent.
"It is time to remove all barriers to those who want HBO," said CEO Richard Plepler, taking aim at the 10 million households with broadband but no cable subscriptions.
CBS, home to "NCIS," "Big Bang Theory" and "Criminal Minds," yesterday jumped on the streaming service bandwagon, launching "CBS All Access." It offers current shows, past seasons, and such classic series as the original "Star Trek" and "Cheers" for $5.99 a month on the device of your choice, commercials included.
Many industry watchers expect rival premium network, —CBS' premium stationShowtime, to announce its own streaming service any day.
These moves could sound the death knell for the traditional cable companies that have made billions by bundling channels together — and forcing millions of subscribers to suffer through channels they don't want.
But these seismic shifts could ultimately shake down a higher price tag for access to the shows you love.
HBO has revealed precious little about the fine print of its new service, such as cost or what series will be offered and when they'll be available. (Live? A day after broadcast? A week?)
The network's HBO GO, its streaming service available to its cable TV subscribers, has a less-than-stellar record. It crashed during the premiere of "Game of Thrones" last April, and the network took to Twitter to apologize for the spotty service.
It's premature to write the obit on the traditional bundling model just yet. HBO probably won't want to burn its relationships with cable providers on an untried product, so it seems likely that the new streaming service will probably cost a little bit more than its cable subscription — or offer something less than you can find in its current library.
And you might be willing to pay for HBO, but how much would you pony up for TLC or E! or Animal Planet? This brave new world could lead to a catastrophic culling of content providers. Viewers, ironically, could end up with fewer choices.
And if every channel goes a la carte, we all might look back at our cable bills and think: "What a pittance we paid. That truly was the Golden Age of Television."
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