For HBO, It's Disrupt or Be Disrupted

By Tim Beyers – Nov 3, 2013 at 10:00AM

NYSE: TWX

Time Warner Inc.

A plan to offer lower-cost service via Comcast takes shape.

HBO's new deal with Comcast (CMCSA 1.57%) is a disruptive opportunity for Time Warner (TWX), Fool contributor Tim Beyers says in the following video.

Specifically, for about $50 a month, Comcast will sell what amounts to a stand-alone HBO service that includes a handful of local and government channels, broadband, and HBO to Go as well as the full suite of HBO channels.

The deal amounts to an experiment to see if Time Warner can profitably sell HBO as an independent product -- a notion the company has teased for a while now -- while giving Comcast a way to appeal to potential cord-cutters who only want a sliver of the cable pie, Tim says.

Can investors expect Time Warner to disrupt its cable partners and begin selling HBO separately? Would doing so boost the company's profits? Tim answers these questions and more in the video. Please watch now and then leave a comment to let us know what you think.

Fool contributor Tim Beyers is a member of the Motley Fool Rule Breakers stock-picking team and the Motley Fool Supernova Odyssey I mission. He owned shares of Netflix and Time Warner at the time of publication. Check out Tim's web home and portfolio holdings or connect with him on Google+, Tumblr, or Twitter, where he goes by @milehighfool. You can also get his insights delivered directly to your RSS reader.

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