So what happens now?

According to January research from Parks Associates, half of the people who say they are interested in the new HBO service will drop their pay-TV subscriptions altogether, which, the research company says, could cause a 7% dip in subscribers.

Since those defecting customers would still be paying HBO -- but for the new online service -- that would be a blow for cable and satellite TV.

But because HBO would also pick up something like 15 million online subscribers who now don’t get HBO, it would be doing just fine. (Time Warner’s other cable properties, like TNT, TBS and CNN, presumably would feel the pinch, and no doubt that’s why those channels hooked up with Dish’s SlingTV new over-the-top service.)

From the article "UPDATING: 'HBO Now' The Big Test For Cord-Cutters?" by P.J. Bednarski.

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