In re your Game of Thrones example: HBO is actually sitting pretty as compared to the big networks like NBC, CBS, ABC, and FOX. After all, HBO doesn't really care how its subscribers consume its content: be it on the HBO Go iPad app, cable on-demand, DVR, TV, iTunes, or even (to some extent) by way of piracy (1). After all, it's monetizing the subscribers one way or the other. Networks can't count on the same, and if they try to transition to a premium cable model, they'll face stiff consumer resistance from a user base accustomed to getting its network content free of charge.
(1) The reason HBO doesn't need to care about piracy as much as networks do is somewhat counterintuitive. You'd think that, since HBO monetizes viewers directly, it should be deeply concerned with losing viewers to piracy. But actually, there's a reasonable argument to be made that HBO gains more users from piracy than it loses. Piracy serves as a great marketing vehicle for HBO's content, while not really stealing away a significant number of current users. Net-net, HBO might actually be better off for the existence of piracy. But that's just a hypothesis.
(2) Eventually, HBO will need to adapt its subscription model, which is predicated on semi-indirectly monetizing users by way of monetizing cable providers based on size of user base (among other factors). What does the adaptation look like? I'd imagine it's a future in which all cloud-based curators of content (Apple, Netflix, etc.) are monetized by HBO and other providers in a similar fashion to how HBO currently monetizes cable networks. In this sense, I don't think a la carte is totally going to replace subscription models for HBO and its ilk. It might be a nice complement to, but certainly not an immediate replacement for, business as usual.
(1) The reason HBO doesn't need to care about piracy as much as networks do is somewhat counterintuitive. You'd think that, since HBO monetizes viewers directly, it should be deeply concerned with losing viewers to piracy. But actually, there's a reasonable argument to be made that HBO gains more users from piracy than it loses. Piracy serves as a great marketing vehicle for HBO's content, while not really stealing away a significant number of current users. Net-net, HBO might actually be better off for the existence of piracy. But that's just a hypothesis.
(2) Eventually, HBO will need to adapt its subscription model, which is predicated on semi-indirectly monetizing users by way of monetizing cable providers based on size of user base (among other factors). What does the adaptation look like? I'd imagine it's a future in which all cloud-based curators of content (Apple, Netflix, etc.) are monetized by HBO and other providers in a similar fashion to how HBO currently monetizes cable networks. In this sense, I don't think a la carte is totally going to replace subscription models for HBO and its ilk. It might be a nice complement to, but certainly not an immediate replacement for, business as usual.