It's not an either/or proposition, HBO can allow streaming and still be friends with the cable companies. NBC is one of the big backers of Hulu and the cable companies still deal with NBC.
Do the cable companies deal with NBC? I thought they only dealt with local broadcast affiliates. But I confess I haven't had cable in a long time.
Regardless, premium content like HBO is different than broadcast television. The cable companies never had US exclusives to Saturday Night Live. But they do for Game of Thrones, and I doubt they'll give that up willingly. Remember: they're monopolists, and to a monopolist there's no such thing as fair competition.
