Entertainment conglomerates think that we don’t have enough video streaming services to choose from that they keep adding one every few months. The latest to join the fray is something that we know was coming for months: HBO Max. It has finally launched in th U.S. and brings with it a lot of movies and TV shows and also some upcoming original content as well. But to make things a bit more confusing, two other HBO services are still there: HBO Now and HBO Go.
Technically, HBO Now will disappear soon but is still there for now. If you’ve already subscribed to it and you pay for it directly or through Google Play, Samsung, Optimum or Verizon Fios Internet, you will automatically be switched to HBO Max, without any additional fee or change in subscription price. But if you’re direct-billed through other services like T&T, AT&T TV, DIRECTV, U-Verse TV, Cox, Hulu, Optimum or telco providers through the NCTC, you will have to download the HBO Max separately. You can use your previous credentials on Now to log in.
HBO Go seems to still exist as it is a streaming app that’s connected to your HBO Satellite TV and cable subscription. It is actually bundled into your subscription so you don’t pay anything extra. And if you’re not a subscriber, you can’t sign up for it (at least in the U.S.). There’s no news yet if that will also eventually be replaced by HBO Max so for now it’s still there. If you don’t have any subscriptions that match any of that we mentioned, you will have to actually sign up for HBO Max.
So what’s on HBO Max anyway? For now all you’ll get are movies and TV shows that you’ve previously been able to access on other HBO services. They say they have 10,000 hours of content at launch and that includes all of HBO’s catalog as well as from Warner Bros, New Line Cinema, DC Entertainment, Cartoon Network, The CW, Turner, etc. They will eventually have original content like the Justice League Dark series, The Overlook, a horror series based on Stephen King’s The Shining, Ellen’s Home Design Challenge, and other big name projects.
HBO Max will cost you $14.99 per month but you can try it out for 7 days for free. You will be able to watch it on your computer, any Android device running on 5 and up, Playstation 4, Xbox, Android TV, Chromebooks, Chromecast, and Samsung TVs released after 2016.
