The insistence that you have HBO as part of a home cable service stunts the profitability of this (and Showtime's) application.
I don't have cable tv and I'm not interested in getting cable tv. Between the local stations, hulu, netflix, and the internet, I'm never lacking in something to watch.
I'd gladly pay a small monthly fee to use this app, such as the fee I pay for netflix and hulu, but that option is not available. Instead, they insist that I pay a large monthly fee (a cable subscription+HBO), mainly filled with content that I'm not interested in viewing.
Insistence on an old business model despite the profitability of the new model. Kinda reminds me of another industry.