Re/code:

OK, Comcast: Your move.

That’s the message HBO CEO Richard Plepler was sending yesterday to the cable giant and the other big pay-TV distributors, when he announced he was going to start selling subscriptions with Apple.

HBO’s plan to sell a standalone version of the service — HBO Now, for $15 a month — using Apple as its exclusive digital launch partner is big news. Remember, though, that it’s only half of the story: Plepler wants to use his new digital service to create a new revenue stream, and perhaps a life raft. But he also wants to use it as a lever to get more money out of his existing business with the pay-TV companies, which generated $5.4 billion last year.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. HBO exclusivity with Apple is for a rumored three month time frame.