HBO Go is one of the wildly popular streaming apps that rivals Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Instant Video. The HBO app is the perfect way to catch up or revisit the shows the premium channel provides, and with Game of Thrones coming back for its fifth season in April, the app is most likely being heavily used by people that are going back to the last season.
The PlayStation 3 got its own version of the app last year, much to the delight PS3 owners, unless they were also a Comcast customer. In that case, the HBO Go app is useless, since the service provider actively blocked the app.
Some were hopeful that HBO and Comcast would come to some sort of agreement by the time the app launched on the PS4, because surely the block wouldn't last too long. Sadly, with HBO Go releasing on the PS4 earlier this week, things have remained the same. Meaning that Comcast users who eagerly downloaded and installed the new app this week were once again met with disappointment and frustration. Naturally, this has resulted in a new forum topic, where a couple people have threatened to leave the service as soon as they're able.
Comcast has mostly ignored the negative response to its blocking of the HBO Go app. Last month, however, in a forum discussion regarding the PS3's app, a company rep addressed the concerns, though not with anything that could be considered an explanation. The only real takeaway is that the company's stance stems from issues between itself and HBO; competitors like AT&T and Verizon allow the app to be used unhindered, so one would think it'd be in Comcast's best interest to remove the block.
"HBO Go availability on PS3 (and some other devices) are business decisions and deal with business terms that have not yet been agreed to between the parties. Thanks for your continued patience."
In a response to IGN, Comcast pointed the spotlight away from the PS3/PS4, and instead pointed to the other ways customers can see everything HBO has to offer, which includes Xfinity set top boxes and the Xfinity TV Go platform. As true as that may be, it doesn't overshadow the fact that a large amount of console owners have come to enjoy using these systems for more than just playing games.