ubercake :
Once HBO does this, other channels will follow. No longer will we have to pay for crap channels we'll never watch included with some package in order to minimize the cable expense.
With regard to "cable cutting", the initial investment in your own hardware can be off-putting for some:
Basic non-amped Indoor HD Over-the-Air (OTA) Antenna would suffice for most
Docsis 3.0 Cable modem
Router and switches as necessary
OTA DVR (ie TabloTV)
Roku/Apple/Google TV devices and/or smart tvs
But these are one-time purchases instead of paying the cable company to lease their equipment every month. Upgrade as necessary when technological advances dictate it.
I've found a basic 30Mbps connection will easily accommodate 3 HD video streams+gaming.
Services to consider are Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Prime. All about $9 each, but you can watch these on any TV, PC or device in your house. These will give you a lot of content to watch in addition to the OTA. I suppose I'll pick up HBO Go now for the Game of Thrones season.
Also, I used to provider hop as better cable deals were offered by different providers. It makes it really easy to switch providers when only one cable has to be swapped out.
Many people won't even require the OTA equipment as you can pretty much watch any show the next day on Hulu plus, but I do like to watch the occasional football game. It takes a few months to start realizing the savings, but after a that, it's money in your pocket.
Why do you think the cable companies don't want net neutrality? They fear losing their grasp on everything they want to charge us for. More and more people are dropping cable.
The OTA antenna is going to be highly dependent on location. In some locations with the right geography, 70+ stations are possible. In mine where I am in a valley, I get two stations still on VHF perfectly, while the three other main local stations on UHF are dependent on weather conditions which do make them unwatchable at times. That is with a small-ish directional and amplified Winegard antenna in my attic. I get a few low-power stations in my area, one that serves religious interests, one that serves up ION and another that is more independent with a total of about 28 channels that come in well enough to watch.
As for me, OTA is a no-brainer compared to Hulu because I can skip commercials; I time shift everything.
I know it is not for everyone, but I went with MediaPortal, Hulu+ (free via Bing Points), Netflix, and Amazon Prime plus a $0.99/episode for a show my wife watches through iTunes. Outlay in equipment/software including a new HTPC build and 2, HDHomerun Prime tuners was about $1,800. Considering I am now paying $16/mo for just TV down from $88/mo, I'll pay that off in about another 17 months.
I have absolutely no interest in HBO's service at any price. For their original programming, even if I were interested, I would stick with Amazon Prime.