"At that time, Kessler also said his company sees cable-cutting as no more than a temporary austerity measure that will cease as soon as the economy takes a turn for the better."
To steal a page from John Gruber, this sounds like one to keep for claim chowder.
HBO has strong content, an amazing brand, and a mobile app. They can turn around tomorrow and sell a streaming service for $10 that will get tons of subscribers.
But right up until that point, they will say cable is great and will never go down.
Thinking this is "claim chowder" is just thinking too small and literally.
This is what I was thinking. I almost wrote a rant about how it's unfortunate that HBO, a network that makes some pretty awesome shows, isn't getting with the times etc etc. Then, I thought I should probably just hold my tongue and watch what happens.
I suspect the scenario you describe is correct, they'll defend cable up until they launch their own service.
With stories like this, I always wonder: do the executives have kids? What are those kids watching? Do they own Rokus? What about their friends, classmates, roommates, etc.?
Do the executives really just keep the blinders on all the time?
To steal a page from John Gruber, this sounds like one to keep for claim chowder.