Episode 7 available one week in advance on HBO Go

[Arya The Assassin]

Hmm.... good question. I do not know the answer regarding how we'll handle discussion. Will ponder.

I think the episode 7 thread should be opened when the episode becomes available on HBO Go. You can create separate spoiler/non-spoiler threads, and I see no reason to prevent those who've seen the episode to discuss it. The other episode threads have been opened/created when the episodes air in the US, even though GoT won't open in other countries until later this summer. So, in principle, it's not different from the way things are handled today.

[Arya The Assassin]

It'll be interesting to see how this 'strategic' move will impact viewer ratings for episode 7. Will the same people who watch the show on HBO Go also watch the show on HBO one week later? (Nielsen ratings do not take HBO Go numbers into account).

HBO also recently announced that their HBO Go app for iPad, iPhone and Android-smartphones had been downloaded over 1 million times (I really enjoy using the iPad as a mobile reading/entertainment platform, and it would've been cool to have HBO Go on the tablet). I hope HBO will publish the viewer statistics for these mobile platforms, so that we can see how they compare quantitatively to HBO's regular broadcasts.

HBO isn't too concerned about the potential impact on DVD/Blu-Ray sales, and I think it's interesting and praiseworthy that premium TV networks such as HBO 'embraces' these digital platforms and online distribution channels (I think this is the way things will evolve in the next few years).

I know many people who prefer to watch a movie on the big screen in a theatre (instead of waiting for the film on DVD or Blu-Ray), if it's the first time they're watching the film. In this case, we're talking about watching the episode on the computer (PC, smartphone, etc.) or on the TV, so the principle remains the same. But I presume that HBO Go offers HD streaming of their content, and I suspect that many people with HBO Go subscription also have their HDTVs connected to a computer.

[Hyper]

I'm hoping that HBOGO is HBO's intial attempt at testing the waters for internet content distribution. Perhaps in the future, they can offer separate HBO subscriptions through HBOGO without needing cable service. If they are smart, that's what they should be doing.

Doing it that way would also allow them to sell subscriptions worldwide. As long as they get their $10-15 per month, it shouldn't matter where they get it from.

Of course, the cable companies and international right holders wouldn't be happy - but it is inevitable at some point.

[Abaddon]

You do have to enter your Zip code, so it is possible it is limited by Zip code. But again - Remember that you need to login with your Charter EMAIL account ([email protected]) - not your regular userid/password you use to pay bills, etc. For me those user id's are separate, at least.

When I signed up for Charter Internet originally, I declined an email address because I didn't really need another one. So, I finally signed up for an email address today, and was able to successfully create my HBOGO account and am ready for Episode 7 this Sunday. Yay! Thanks for the pointers as I probably would not have done this otherwise.

As an aside, it turns out you do not need a Charter email address if you do not have Charter Internet (if you just have the TV package). You can use your charter.com account and password in that case, although you might have to go through a slightly different path (there's more detail on the charter website). Which is pretty interesting, actually, that you don't need Charter Internet, just the TV package and HBO through Charter.