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HBO is preparing to go head-to-head with Netflix in Spain.

Lured by Spain’s high rate of broadband-ready consumers and web subscribers who opt out of pay TV, American TV network HBO is preparing to launch a standalone web service in Spain, putting it in direct competition with Netflix, which launched in the country last October…

By the end of 2016, people living in Spain will be able to access the HBO TV streaming service without having to sign up to a pay-TV subscription.

Spanish internet connectivity is one of the best in the world, but Spaniards are generally reluctant to get tied down to long-term pay TV contracts – such as those offered by Sky – preferring instead to source their content when and however they want.

This is what attracted Netflix – which although is subscription-based charges just a small fee – to enter the Spanish market last year. High rates of online piracy in Spain merely confirm the obvious: the Spanish TV audience is demanding, but does not want to follow set scheduling terms laid out by traditional providers.

An HBO internet channel, therefore, would offer Spanish residents the chance to watch some of HBO’s biggest hits, such as Game of Thrones, on demand via a streaming service. It will also mean that HBO retains exclusive broadcasting rights for such shows, meaning that they will no longer be available on other platforms. So the move is something of a double-edged sword for fans of HBO’s output.

For HBO, it sees Spain as a leading country of “cord-cutters” – people who cancel their pay TV subscriptions or avoid such packages altogether.