It seems every new season of Game of Thrones is accompanied by new developments in the war between old and new media.
And so it is with season five.
Sky TV announced this morning, "New Zealand is joining 170 countries and territories across the globe that will simulcast each week’s episode as it airs on HBO in the US, so you can watch it at the same time as the rest of the planet."
The simulcast approach means Game of Thrones will screen at 1pm on Monday afternoons (Sunday night in the US) from April 13.
That's a welcome development. Sky is pitching it as a move to beat spoilers but it also means Sky's Soho channel will have Game of Thronesbefore it hits the Torrents.
The most progressive move Sky could make (for short-term pain but long-term gain) would be to put Game of Thrones on its new Neon video streaming service, and in high definition. That would make Neon fly and cut off nascent competition like Lightbox at the knees.
As it is, $20/month Neon subscribers have to make do with older seasons.
HBO Now ... for the US
Yesterday I covered the new HBO Now service, which will allow HBO to cut out the middle man (pay TV providers) and sell its content directly to viewers via Apple TV. For the first time, non-Sky subscribers in New Zealand will have a relatively easy route to HBO content (the likes of iTunes US, Hulu and Netflix, for all their various wonders, are wastelands when it comes to HBO content, or at least first-run episodes).
After that article was published, both Apple and Sky TV got in touch with NBR to emphasise HBO's statement that HBO Now will be US-only at launch.
Indeed it will be. NBR's point remains that some Kiwis have US iTunes accounts (in fact, they're popular with Apple TV owners, given iTunes NZ has no TV content).
And, more, that HBO has also said it plans to expand HBO Now into other countries.
Expect that to happen as local rights expire in various territories over the coming years.
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Sky TV to simulcast Game of Thrones
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