Time Warner Cable launches HBO, Max GO

HBO GO and Max GO are continuing their relentless spread across North America with the addition of Time Warner Cable to its list of service providers whose subscribers can authenticate in using pay-TV credentials in order to use the service. The cable MSO was one of the last holdouts, but following a successful beta trial it has decided to embrace the TV Everywhere app. HBO GO and Max GO offer anywhere, anytime access to the premium networks' content across the Web, smartphones, iPads and other tablets, Xbox 360 and Roku boxes. HBO GO alone offers more than 1,400 titles online, including current-season programming of top hits like Tue Blood, Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire;  classic and still well-loved series like The Sopranos, Sex and the City and Big Love;  as well as the films, miniseries, documentaries and specials that the channel is known for. For its part, Max GO offers more than 400 titles. TWC's fellow MSOs Cablevision Systems and Bright House Networks will soon join the HBO GO bandwagon-- those deals were announced in December and represent the last major holdouts to the service. Once those authentication schemes are live, HBO Co-President Eric Kessler says HBO Go will be available to 98% of HBO subscribers. HBO GO's success at bringing on-demand TV to connected devices both inside and outside of the home is widely seen as a big proof of concept for pay-TV providers' TV Everywhere initiatives, meant to ward off competition with over-the-top streaming services like Netflix.   The app claimed 5 million downloads in just six months of launch.