Morning update: Virgin America’s six-hour pre-roll; More cats than you can shake a diet coke bottle at; HBO standalone streaming service

Morning all, welcome to our morning update and a smattering of news which happened overnight around the world

Mashable: HBO to offer standalone streaming service in the US in 2015

HBO chairman and CEO Richard Plepler has announced that the popular premium cable channel will offer its streaming platform as a standalone service in the U.S. in 2015.

The move brings HBO closer into competition with other streaming companies like Netflix. Currently, HBO Go, the company’s streaming offering, is only available to those who pay through expensive cable subscriptions.