And the world gets yet another way to binge watch Game of Thrones between seasons. HBO Now, HBO’s cord-cutting standalone service, yesterday became available to stream through Google Chromecast, the little $30 dongle that, accroding to Digital Trends, has “changed the way we think of media devices.” I dunno about that, but it’s always nice to have more options.
When HBO Now first debuted, it provided Thrones nuts with the option to watch all of HBO’s original programming without the need to actually get an HBO subscription (although just stealing your friend’s HBO Go password may still be the preferred method of viewing these shows). Unfortunately, at that time, HBO Now could only be accessed through Apple products—Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, and iPad Touch. It later showed up on Android and Amazon Fire devices. Now, simply plug the Google Chromecast dongle into the HDMI port on your TV, and you can stream programs through HBO Now by way of your phone, laptop, or what-have-you.
At $14.99 per month, HBO Now is certainly an affordable alternative to getting a bulky cable subscription, and with more ways than ever to access it, cord-cutting is looking like more and more of a viable alternative. True, limitations remain. HBO Now still isn’t available outside the United States, nor is it available on Roku, another popular streaming device. Still, if we were HBO, we’d be working on changing that as soon as possible. Cord cutters unite, join the revolution, etcetera, etcetera.
And if the prospect of watching HBO programs isn’t enough to entice you, Google Chromecast has also added the Food Network and the Travel Channel to its roster. If Game of Thrones becomes too grim for you, the Barefoot Contessa could be on hand to cleanse the palate.