Time Warner Shares On The Move: Apple, HBO In Talks Over Standalone Streaming Service

Shares of Time Warner Inc

were slightly up –and then down- on Wednesday afternoon after news transcended about Apple Inc.

being in talks with HBO. According to an article published in the International Business Times (http://www.ibtimes.com/hbo-talks-apple-be-launch-partner-coming-web-service-hbo-now-exclusive-1835882 ), HBO intends to make Apple TV one of the launch partners for its "HBO Now" streaming service, to debut next month – in conjunction with the premiere of the fifth season of "Game of Thrones," sources familiar with the issue say. "HBO Now" was developed by HBO and streaming partner Major League Baseball Advanced Media, and will work as a standalone service. It will allow customers to subscribe directly, rather than through a third party provider (cable, satellite, etc.). Sources say that the retail price will be around $15 a month when purchased directly from HBO. The International Business Times article explains: "With ‘HBO Now,' HBO's corporate parent, Time Warner Inc., is looking to a whole new generation of distributors for HBO such as Apple TV, Roku, Xbox, PlayStation, Amazon and others to help market the service to an estimated 10 million U.S. broadband subscribers who do not pay for a cable TV bundle. CEO Jeff Bewkes has said the offering could also help reach some of the 70 million cable TV subscribers who do not subscribe to HBO but might if given the opportunity to subscribe online." Sources say that Apple has been "most aggressive in courting HBO in a bid to add the service to Apple TV."