HBO Go App Tops 2.7 Million Downloads

Chicago — In less than two months, HBO’s apps for its “TV Everywhere” service have hit 2.7 million downloads, co-president Eric Kessler said in the Thursday morning session here at the Cable Show.

“We are more excited about our opportunities now than any time in the 38-year history of HBO,” Kessler said on the panel, moderated by new NCTA president and CEO Michael Powell.

Kessler is genuinely jazzed about the network’s HBO Go service, which provides some 1,600 hours of movies and original shows. It’s proven to be immensely popular. The iPhone/iPad and Android apps reached 1 million in about the first two weeks of release (see HBO Go App Hits 1M Downloads).

On the panel Kessler reiterated that HBO Go “is free to the cable operator, and it is free to the consumer” — although technically it’s not “free,” since you have to be an HBO subscriber to get it.

If HBO really is offering the service for no additional cost to affiliates, it’s all the more puzzling why Time Warner Cable and Cablevision aren’t on the bandwagon at this point (see HBO Go Talks Move Forward).

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