You Might Be Able to Pay for HBO Without Paying for Cable. But You’re Still Going to Pay the Cable Guy.

[Commentary] You say you love HBO — or the idea of HBO — but you don’t want to pay for other TV networks in order to watch it? Well, maybe, possibly, that could happen. One day. But you’re still going to end up handing over money to the people who sell pay TV.

That’s the scenario that Time Warner’s HBO has been floating for a while now. And Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes brought it up again. Bewkes and his lieutenants are not talking about selling HBO directly to you, the way Netflix sells its programs. They’re talking about selling it through Comcast, or Verizon, or Time Warner Cable, or whoever delivers your broadband Internet — and who also sells pay TV. The distinction is important to you, the would-be HBO subscriber, because it means you’ll pay a significant markup on the monthly price that Comcast, or Verizon, or Time Warner Cable pays for HBO. And depending on how much Internet pipe you end up using when you watch HBO and other Web video, you may end up paying more for broadband, too.