In a startling development confirmed yesterday as really happening, HBO is shuttering its channels in the Netherlands as of January 1st, 2017, Variety reports.
Currently, what is known as “HBO Netherlands” provides programming services from channels HBO1, HBO2, and HBO3, plus HBO On Demand and HBO GO. All of these will cease to exist in the country as of the beginning of next year. HBO partnered with Dutch cable TV platform Ziggo to bring these channels to the Netherlands.
At the moment, the plan is for HBO and Ziggo are going to start over with a new, reconfigured service. Said a spokesperson:
"After careful consideration, the joint venture partners have determined that discontinuing the service is the best business decision and that we believe our customers will be better served by a different service that will feature HBO content, including full library."
For whatever reason, HBO has struggled in the Netherlands, and in Scandanavia in general—Francois Godard of Enders Analysis called HBO Go’s efforts to compete with Netflix in the region “very disappointing.” “Selling all your programs to someone who has the subscriber relationship and is good at selling may have been seen as a better model,” he continued
Of course, our first concern is how will this affect Game of Thrones? After all, two major players are from the Netherlands, Carice van Houten (Melisandre) and Michiel Huisman (Daario Naharis). However, Variety notes that Dutch cable subscribers will likely be able to keep watching Game of Thrones on other networks
"Ziggo is quoted by media outlets as calling the move a “business decision,” going on to say that it will continue to offer HBO shows – such as “Game of Thrones,” “Silicon Valley” and “The Night Of” – in exclusivity to its cable clients."
At least there’s some time to figure out what channel will carry the show before Season 7 arrives. People need to reprogram their DVRs. Game of Thrones returns to airwaves everywhere (including the Netherlands) in the summer of 2017.