HBO Max, the upcoming HBO-anchored streaming service packed with extra shows and movies, launches Wednesday. And Its arrival brings a complex matrix of answers to one simple question: How much will it cost?
Like rivals Netflix, Disney Plus and Peacock, HBO Max will have a sprawling catalog of hit shows and movies, plus a big-budget slate of exclusive originals packed with stars. But HBO Max is the most expensive of the bunch at $15 a month.
If you don’t already pay for HBO and preorder today, you can get a $3 discount on the subscription every month for a year. But if you’re already paying for HBO in some form now, the amount you’ll have to pay for Max, or whether you have to pay anything extra at all… well, it’s complicated.
To entice you to open your wallet for yet another streaming service, HBO Max has padded itself with more content than you’ll find on either the regular HBO channel or HBO Now, its existing streaming service. AT&T, which owns HBO as part of its WarnerMedia TV-and-film division, has been pouring billions of dollars into the HBO Max service itself, in expensive deals to stream popular reruns such as Friends and The Big Bang Theory, and in budgets for original programming. (A deep dive into the shows and movies on Max are at the end of this article.)
The latest high-profile exclusive HBO Max has announced is the fabled “Snyder cut” of the 2017 movie Justice League. This alternate edit of the DC movie by director Zack Snyder will stream on the service in 2021. Beyond that, HBO Max will have so-called Max Originals, new shows and movies made just for HBO Max. At launch, the service will have six, including an anthology series called Love Life starring Anna Kendrick that follows one character through a new romantic relationship each episode. HBO Max will add 11 more originals over the summer, including the Aug. 6 premiere of Seth Rogen’s comedy film An American Pickle.
Like most things in the world, HBO Max’s originals have been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.
People across the nation are streaming much more as they’re confined to their homes, but the novel coronavirus and its respiratory disease, COVID-19, have also shut down television productions globally. HBO Max hasn’t commented much on the impact of the virus on content, but signs of disruption have started to surface. A Friends reunion special is delayed, for one.
HBO Max’s $15-a-month price matches the cost of HBO Now and for HBO’s traditional channel when you get it through most pay-TV providers. (By comparison, Disney Plus is $7 a month, Netflix’s cheapest tier is $9, and Peacock will even have a free limited tier with ads.)
For brand new HBO customers, pricing is straightforward. You just sign up, and pay the $15 monthly cost. If you preorder on the HBO Max website through Tuesday, you can unlock that discount cutting $3 off the monthly price for the first year — $12 a month for the first 12 months.
But if you already pay for HBO elsewhere, the questions of whether you get a free upgrade to HBO Max has no simple answer. Some people who already have a regular HBO subscription or HBO Now will get Max for no extra cost — but not everyone.
In order for you to get the automatic upgrade to Max, HBO needs to strike a deal with the company that’s already billing you for HBO, whether it’s a cable-TV company like Charter or a digital provider like Apple. HBO Max has been ramping up these deals, and there’s a growing list of providers that are letting their HBO customers upgrade to Max. (See the full list below.)
But HBO Max doesn’t have deals with every provider. Comcast, for example, is the biggest cable company in the country, and HBO Max hasn’t announced a deal with Comcast and its Xfinity services yet. If you’re in that boat, you could be forced to pay twice — one bill for regular HBO and another for HBO Max — or be forced to cancel your current HBO subscription to re-sign up for Max.
Yep, it’s complicated. Below are the finer details about HBO Max’s cost, discounts, app and its shows and movies.
HBO Max will be $15 a month at launch. A preorder discount offers a $12 monthly rate for the first year if you sign up through Tuesday at HBOMax.com.
Sometime within the first year, the service will expand to include another tier that carries advertising. The company hasn’t specified the price, launch date or catalog limitations on this tier, but it would presumably be cheaper or even free.
HBO’s current standalone streaming service, HBO Now, also costs $15 a month. Though HBO Now will continue to operate, HBO Max will essentially replace it.
HBO Now subscribers are welcome to stick with that service, but they’ll essentially be paying the same amount for less programming. HBO Max will have all the same shows and movies on HBO Now plus a big catalog of licensed programming and exclusive originals.
Compared with rival streaming services launching before HBO Max, that pricing may feel steep to many consumers. Disney Plus is $7 a month, and Apple TV Plus is $5. Both are offering deals that can cut the price further or are providing opportunities for extended free periods lasting up to a year. Apple, for example, is giving away a year’s subscription to anyone who’s purchased an Apple device since early September. And Disney set up a deal with Verizon so any of the carrier’s mobile subscribers get a year free.
HBO Max will launch Wednesday in the US.
After that, HBO Max’s first international expansions will prioritize Latin America and Europe. Latin America will get HBO Max in 2021, the company has said.
HBO Max’s US timing will put it near the end of a parade of streaming service launches. Disney Plus and Apple TV Plus launched in November. April brought Quibi, a mobile-only streaming service that features short, episodic originals. Also in April, NBCUniversal’s Peacock launched a “sneak peek” at its service on Comcast. Peacock’s national launch is set for July 15 (though that date may be pushed up).
HBO Max will be available on a wide variety of devices, including phones, tablets, the web, connected TVs and game consoles.
The service has confirmed support for the following devices and platforms:
But one popular device may not get HBO Max, at least initially. Earlier in May, AT&T incoming CEO John Stankey said that Amazon’s Fire TV products may not have an HBO Max app. “I’m pleased to say we’re going to be in virtually all app stores, or maybe one exception. It looks like we may not be in the Amazon Fire app store when all of this is said and done,” he said.
The simplest way to get HBO Max is to sign up for it directly at hbomax.com.
Through Apple, HBO Max will be an iOS app for iPhone and iPad, which will allow you to sign up and pay through an in-app purchase. Apple will also integrate HBO Max into its own TV app, which allows you to congregate certain streaming channels to watch them in one place.
Through Google, HBO Max will have an app for Android phones and tablets in the Google Play store, and you’ll be able to sign up inside the app with an in-app purchase. You’ll also be able to stream HBO Max on Android TV, Chromebook and Google Chromecast. If you already subscribe to HBO Now through Google Play, you’ll automatically be able to log in to HBO Max at launch at no additional charge, and you’ll continue to be billed through Google. And YouTube TV, the streaming pay-TV service operated by Google’s YouTube, will also carry HBO Max.
People with Samsung Smart TVs that support the HBO Max app will also be able to sign up directly there.
Things get more complicated if you already have HBO and want to know what the launch of HBO Max means for you. Some people who already have an existing subscription to HBO will be able to unlock HBO Max at no extra cost, but not everyone.
Here’s some good news for anyone who is an HBO Now subscriber through Apple or Google: You barely have to do anything to unlock HBO Max. Your HBO Now app should automatically be replaced by the HBO Max app via a software update on devices that support HBO Max. In those cases, when you open the new HBO Max app, you just need to agree to the HBO Max Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and choose to “Access All of HBO Max,” and you’re set, according to an HBO Now support page.
Some HBO Max distributors will unlock an HBO Max upgrade at no extra cost for their current HBO and HBO Now customers, thanks to deals HBO Max has struck with them. You qualify for the HBO Max upgrade at no extra cost if you already pay for HBO through:
However, it’s unclear if HBO Max will strike more deals with other pay-TV providers, whether that’s traditional providers like Comcast or Dish Network, or internet-based ones like Amazon Prime Video Channels and The Roku Channel.
AT&T is also offering a complicated matrix of promos for HBO Max. Some customers will get Max at no extra cost, while others qualify for a one-month, three-month or one-year free trial. Your best shot at figuring out whether you qualify is to check your account or the myAT&T app, but CNET also lists AT&T’s qualification terms for its HBO Max promos.
The catalog is all over the map.
HBO Max will include all the shows and movies on HBO, plus a selection of high-profile licensed content, like Friends, The Big Bang Theory, Rick & Morty and South Park. It’ll layer exclusive original programming on top of that. At launch, HBO Max said it’ll have 10,000 hours of content.
Originally, HBO Max planned to have 31 originals in its first year and amp that up to 50 originals in the second year. But those plans may be adjusted because of disruptions from the coronavirus.
The simplest part of the catalog to understand is HBO itself. HBO Max will include everything on regular HBO, so that means all the theatrical movies that come and go from the channel; new episodes from all HBO series, like Westworld and Last Week Tonight With John Oliver; and the past seasons of those programs as well as the full HBO back catalog, like Game of Thrones, Silicon Valley, Veep and The Wire; plus any of the HBO original films, documentaries and specials.
Movies will be a crucial part of the catalog. And any movie that’s available to watch on the traditional HBO network will also be available to stream on HBO Max. Highlights of the HBO Max film catalog will include (but not necessarily be available at launch):
Ultimately, HBO Max will have more than 18,000 movies, the company has said.
On top of that, AT&T has been licensing outside hit shows to beef up HBO Max’s catalog. The most most eye-popping deals have been:
It’s also secured deals for past seasons of Rick and Morty; 11 of the most recent seasons of Doctor Who, plus another three to come; CW dramas like Pretty Little Liars, Batwoman, and Riverdale spinoff Katy Keene as well as more upcoming CW series; The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air; The West Wing; and British series like Luther and Ricky Gervais’ original The Office, among many others.
Animated satire South Park will not only contribute its full back catalog to HBO Max but also stream new episodes. The latest episodes of South Park will stream on HBO Max 24 hours after they air on Comedy Central for the next three seasons.
And HBO Max will have exclusive new shows and movies called Max Originals. For the most part, original series on HBO Max will drop new episodes on a weekly basis.
At launch Wednesday, the originals will be:
After launch, the next Max Originals that are scheduled for release are:
Then over the course of the fall and beyond, HBO Max will add other originals, including:
HBO Max originally planned to have 31 original series in its launch year (which totals 69 series when combined with HBO content). Then in 2021, HBO Max planned to expand Max Originals to a slate of 50 shows. About half are targeted at young adults aged 16 to 34, and the rest will be divided between more adult fare and kids and family content outside the HBO brand.
Some of the other highlights of the originals set for HBO Max include:
The service will have a smaller slate of original films, between five and 10 per year, according to the original plan. Early highlights on the original movie slate include:
HBO Max will be similar to HBO Go and HBO Now but with additional programming.
Generally speaking, HBO Now and HBO Go are nearly the same product. The main difference is who uses them: Anyone can sign up for HBO Now for $15 a month, while HBO Go is the app for people who already have an HBO subscription through a live-TV provider like cable or satellite. Both HBO Now and HBO Go stream all the programming available on WarnerMedia’s traditional HBO network.
People who already have HBO Now can switch over to HBO Max for no additional cost. Their HBO Now app will automatically transition to the HBO Max app through a software update on Wednesday, and people who want to upgrade to Max just need to accept the terms of service, a privacy policy and a selection confirming you want the expanded catalog.
For HBO Go users, it’s more complicated. HBO Go is unlocked by a pay-TV subscription, and HBO Max won’t unlock for all pay-TV customers. (Pop back up to the “How do I get Max if I already have HBO?” section for those details.)
AT&T has even more streaming services.
AT&T TV is similar to a cable or satellite pay-TV service, except it’s delivered over the internet. AT&T TV includes live channels, DVR and video on demand that cable subscribers are familiar with, plus the ability to stream from apps like Netflix and Pandora. To watch on TVs, AT&T TV has its own proprietary streaming box that AT&T requires you use, and subscribers can watch everything on mobile devices with an app too. Right now, it starts at $50 a month for the cheapest tier’s first year; the price jumps to $93 a month in the second year.
AT&T TV Now, on the other hand, is a live-TV streaming service along the lines of Sling TV or YouTube TV. If you were familiar with DirecTV Now, AT&T TV Now is just the renamed version of that service. Rather than requiring a specific box, it lets subscribers stream live channels to Rokus, Apple TVs, Fire TVs and more, and the channels are available on a mobile app as well. It also has a cloud DVR. Services like this are sometimes called skinny-bundle streaming services, but AT&T TV Now’s cheapest package isn’t particularly skinny — $55 a month for more than 45 live channels (not including HBO). Still, it isn’t quite as robust as AT&T TV, which is meant to replicate the giant cable packages of traditional TV.
Finally, AT&T Watch TV is closer to a traditional skinny bundle. It offers more than 35 live channels, including AT&T-owned TBS, TNT and CNN. AT&T Watch TV is a free perk included with certain unlimited AT&T wireless data plans, but anyone can sign up for it for $15 a month. It was designed as a mobile-first service, but you can stream AT&T Watch TV to televisions with a few boxes, including Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV, but others aren’t supported, like Roku boxes.
Simple, right?