HBO GO Goes For Level 3

Ok, I admit it.  That was a really bad title, but I just couldn’t resist.  Another week, another high profile CDN win for Level 3 Communications (NYSE:LVLT, news, filings).  HBO selected them to provide streaming of content for their new HBO GO mobile app to various devices, including the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, as well as select Android devices.  As you might expect, HBO GO gives HBO subscribers access to 1,400 titles worth of premium channel content they would otherwise have only been able to see at home.  The app has the potential to drive some serious bandwidth if people use it, as HBO saw over 1M downloads of it in its first week.

Of course, I still can’t imagine watching TV on a phone, but then when it comes to mobile video I’ve never been on the bleeding edge.  Now, the wording of the PR says that Level 3 is ‘a’ provider of CDN services for HBO GO, which means of course that there is probably at least one other if not two.   But Level 3 has seen big growth lately from its CDN segment, as they seem poised to make a run at Limelight and Akamai’s market leadership and finally justify all the effort they have put into the sector for over four years now.  Either or both of Akamai and Limelight are more than likely also serving the HBO Go initiative of course, as using multiple CDNs to maximize flexibility and performance is common practice these days.

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Categories: Content Distribution · Internet Backbones