This is correct. HBO doesn't cost $10, it costs more like $80. Sure, you get a lot more than HBO for the $80 but there is no way to get HBO alone unbundled.

That's why I'm a casual pirate. I'm not arguing that it works for everyone, I'm saying that they do exist.

I have cable because I watch a lot of sports, as soon ESPN lets me pay for streaming without a cable subscription I will drop it, but unfortunately live sports is the one thing than can not be pirated easily, consistently, and in high quality.