HBO's Standalone Streaming Service May Cost Almost Twice As Much As Netflix

HBO may charge around $15 per month for the standalone streaming service it plans to launch next year, according to Martin Peers at The Information.

That price point is much higher than that of its competitors. Both Netflix and Hulu Plus subscriptions cost $7.99 per month, and Amazon Prime costs $99 per year, which equates to about $8.25 per month. That means HBO's streaming service could cost almost twice as much as its competitors - or $180 per year.

HBO CEO Richard Plepler made the announcement on Wednesday, saying that a "standalone, over the top" version of HBO is coming in 2015. The news comes just after Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes said that such a service was being seriously considered in September.

It's unclear if consumers will be willing to pay a $15 subscription, especially when there are other cheaper ways of getting that same content. Many HBO GO users share their passwords with each other so they can watch content without paying for a subscription, and it's also possible to stream many of these series for free online.