HBO on Broadband Offers Downloadable Shows

Those who have already paid the piper will be able to download HBO programming onto their computers at no additional cost.

Just days ago, Time Warner appeared to be striking back at TV-over-Internet providers with download caps in one small Texas city that would severely restrict users’ ability to pull down movies and other large files over the Web. Monday, the company took a seemingly contradictory stance by unveiling HBO on Broadband, a service that will give HBO and cable Internet subscribers the ability to watch HBO shows on demand over the Web. The apparent gist of these announcements: it’s OK to jam up the networks with video traffic, just make sure Time Warner gets paid for it somehow.

HBO on Broadband will debut in Green Bay and Milwaukee on Tuesday, with plans to roll into other markets in the future. The service will be available at no extra cost to those who already subscribe to both Time Warner’s cable Internet service and HBO, with a fee-based version available to others. Upon launch, the service will host over 600 shows and 400 hours of content, including HBO originals such as The Sopranos and Six Feet Under.

In order to take advantage of the service, users will have to install Time Warner’s own software, which will distributed to eligible customers in the test market on CD. The software will allow several advanced features, such as download scheduling and personalized accounts for different family members, but also some drawbacks such as content that can’t be transferred to portable devices and which expires in four weeks. In addition, no version of the necessary software is yet available for Apple computers.