HBO Max - WarnerMedia Announces Upcoming Streaming Service

[Bobby]

Ad free for all content?

Yes, an ad version will come up in 2021.

 

[ncted]

Will my HBO Now subscription just become HBO Max when it launches?

Edit:

"HBO NOW subscribers who are billed directly through HBO will also get access to WarnerMedia's new offering, HBO Max, at launch for no extra cost."

 

[mackie99]

Will my HBO Now subscription just become HBO Max when it launches?

Edit:

"HBO NOW subscribers who are billed directly through HBO will also get access to WarnerMedia's new offering, HBO Max, at launch for no extra cost."

Wonder what happens to those who have HBO subscriptions through Apple or Amazon?

 

[ncted]

Wonder what happens to those who have HBO subscriptions through Apple or Amazon?

"Offer available only to new and existing HBO NOW subscribers who subscribe through hbonow.com and are billed by HBO. Offer not currently available to HBO subscribers that obtain their subscriptions through third-party providers that are authorized to distribute the HBO NOW service."

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

So they will be showing things that I already have on DVD or Bluray or that already are airing on other stations and I am supposed to be excited about it? And $14.95 a month?

I am sorry but HBO's glory days have long passed.

I was more excited about DISNEY +

 

[ncted]

More info:

How will I get HBO Max?
Our goal is for HBO Max to be widely available through our partners and right here at HBOMax.com.

HBO NOW Subscribers
HBO NOW subscribers who are billed directly through HBO will also get access to WarnerMedia's new offering, HBO Max, at launch for no extra cost. Offer available only to new and existing HBO NOW subscribers who subscribe through hbonow.com and are billed by HBO. Offer not currently available to HBO subscribers that obtain their subscriptions through third-party providers that are authorized to distribute the HBO NOW service.

If your HBO NOW subscription is billed through a third-party subscription provider, stay tuned for more details as we get closer to our launch date.

HBO Subscribers
If you subscribe to HBO through a cable or TV provider, stay tuned for more details as we get closer to our launch date.

AT&T Subscribers
Subscribers who get HBO through AT&T video services (such as AT&T TV or U-Verse TV) will also get access to WarnerMedia's new offering, HBO Max, at no extra charge. Also subscribers of premium AT&T mobile and broadband services, will be offered bundles with HBO Max at no extra charge.

 

[ncted]

So they will be showing things that I already have on DVD or Bluray or that already are airing on other stations and I am supposed to be excited about it? And $19.95 a month?

I am sorry but HBO's glory days have long passed.

I was more excited about DISNEY +

How much will HBO Max cost?
HBO Max will be available for $14.99 per month (plus applicable taxes).

 

[mackie99]

So they will be showing things that I already have on DVD or Bluray or that already are airing on other stations and I am supposed to be excited about it? And $19.95 a month?

I am sorry but HBO's glory days have long passed.

I was more excited about DISNEY +

Where are you seeing $19.95 / month? It's going to be $14.99 / month.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Sorry fat fingers... $14.95

 

[ncted]

I am on the fence about whether to switch from Amazon Channels HBO Now subscription to a direct subscription. We've found that we really don't watch live HBO channels any more; the channel guide integration is nice, but we use the guide less and less (or not at all in my wife's case). Additionally, there is often a significant delay before a live show appears in Amazon. We tend to just watch HBO content via the HBO Now app anyway.

 

[Bruce]

As long as I can get gift cards at a discount ( HBO NOW cards were 40% at Best Buy last Black Friday, I bought enough that I have it until July, 2020) I will be a subscriber, if not I will subscribe once or twice a year to catch up, that is how I subscribe to CBS All Access also.

The only things I subscribe to every month are Netflix, Hulu ( both at gift card discounts) and soon Disney+ ( prepaid discount), we also have Amazon but that is mostly for the shipping and saves me money because of that.


Sent from my iPad using SatelliteGuys

 

[JTBenson]

More info:

How will I get HBO Max?
Our goal is for HBO Max to be widely available through our partners and right here at HBOMax.com.

HBO NOW Subscribers
HBO NOW subscribers who are billed directly through HBO will also get access to WarnerMedia's new offering, HBO Max, at launch for no extra cost. Offer available only to new and existing HBO NOW subscribers who subscribe through hbonow.com and are billed by HBO. Offer not currently available to HBO subscribers that obtain their subscriptions through third-party providers that are authorized to distribute the HBO NOW service.

If your HBO NOW subscription is billed through a third-party subscription provider, stay tuned for more details as we get closer to our launch date.

HBO Subscribers
If you subscribe to HBO through a cable or TV provider, stay tuned for more details as we get closer to our launch date.

AT&T Subscribers
Subscribers who get HBO through AT&T video services (such as AT&T TV or U-Verse TV) will also get access to WarnerMedia's new offering, HBO Max, at no extra charge. Also subscribers of premium AT&T mobile and broadband services, will be offered bundles with HBO Max at no extra charge.

Based on the part that I underlined. Since I have AT&T mobile with Unlimited Plus and AT&T TV Now, this sounds like I am getting HBO Max at no extra charge. I currently get HBO at no extra charge. I will believe it when I see it. Not sure I am willing to pay $15 a month, but I am willing to pay $0 a month more than I am paying now.

 

[NashGuy]

So they will be showing things that I already have on DVD or Bluray or that already are airing on other stations and I am supposed to be excited about it? And $14.95 a month?

I am sorry but HBO's glory days have long passed.

I was more excited about DISNEY +

Over the past year, HBO has substantially increased the number of hours of original programming they provide. It's not just new HBO Originals on Sunday night now, it's also Monday night. And then there's some stuff on Friday (Bill Mahr) too. HBO will continue to hold their current elevated level of original output going forward.

And then on top of that, HBO Max will offer a new line of "Max Originals" that will appeal to different demographics and viewing tastes (while still supposedly focusing on high quality) to complement the HBO Originals line-up. So HBO Max isn't just about adding reruns of Friends, Big Bang Theory and The West Wing to HBO. There will be 38 titles under the Max Originals banner in 2020, increasing to 50 titles in 2021, at which point the number of Max Originals will outnumber HBO Originals.

They didn't specifically say this in their event but various leaks over the past several months have indicated that current season originals from their TBS, TNT, TruTV, Cartoon Network and CNN networks will also stream on HBO Max (similar to the way that current season shows from ABC, NBC and Fox stream on-demand from Hulu). It was even reported awhile back that some TNT and TBS series might debut first on HBO Max before airing on the linear network.

So HBO Max is kinda like combining HBO, plus a new second premium service (that tilts more toward younger and female viewers), plus current primetime content from Warner's basic cable channels, plus a library of full seasons of past TV series (both Warner's own stuff as well as series licensed from The BBC and elsewhere), plus a huge rotating movie library, spanning TCM-style classics like Casablanca and The Wizard of Oz, up through all the new films currently airing on HBO and Cinemax.

It's a LOT. I'm just waiting on them to announce, closer to launch, that HBO Max will be the exclusive way to watch new HBO Originals (plus Max Originals) in 4K HDR. If they want to compete head-to-head with Netflix (and they do), it's inevitable that they'll have to embrace that premium picture format. (It's overdue even now, IMO.) But I could see them refusing to stream 4K HDR in the HBO Go and HBO Now apps and reserving that feature for HBO Max and those cable operators who agree to distribute it instead of regular HBO.

 

[NashGuy]

I am on the fence about whether to switch from Amazon Channels HBO Now subscription to a direct subscription. We've found that we really don't watch live HBO channels any more; the channel guide integration is nice, but we use the guide less and less (or not at all in my wife's case). Additionally, there is often a significant delay before a live show appears in Amazon. We tend to just watch HBO content via the HBO Now app anyway.

Sounds like you've pretty much made up your mind then. There are really only two benefits to subscribing to HBO via Amazon Channels vs. direct through HBO Now: better HD picture quality and the convenience of HBO content integrated into a UI that houses Amazon content (either the main Fire TV UI or the Prime Video app UI). But it's the same $15 cost.

When they unveil HBO Max with over 2x the content that regular HBO has, I can't see the point of paying the same $15 to Amazon for regular HBO. May as well switch and enjoy all that extra content.

I think we'll see HBO Max up its picture quality game too. They're getting serious about streaming now. If the HD in HBO Max looks as good as the live HD channels in the AT&T TV app, I'll be happy. What I really want/expect, though, is for HBO to finally embrace 4K HDR once HBO Max debuts.

 

[ncted]

Sounds like you've pretty much made up your mind then. There are really only two benefits to subscribing to HBO via Amazon Channels vs. direct through HBO Now: better HD picture quality and the convenience of HBO content integrated into a UI that houses Amazon content (either the main Fire TV UI or the Prime Video app UI). But it's the same $15 cost.

When they unveil HBO Max with over 2x the content that regular HBO has, I can't see the point of paying the same $15 to Amazon for regular HBO. May as well switch and enjoy all that extra content.

I think we'll see HBO Max up its picture quality game too. They're getting serious about streaming now. If the HD in HBO Max looks as good as the live HD channels in the AT&T TV app, I'll be happy. What I really want/expect, though, is for HBO to finally embrace 4K HDR once HBO Max debuts.

Yeah, I decided to switch to HBO Now as soon as my current Amazon HBO month is up.

 

[NashGuy]

Yeah, I decided to switch to HBO Now as soon as my current Amazon HBO month is up.

To be one of the HBO Now subscribers who automatically gets access to HBO Max when it launches, you'll need to sign up at HBONow.com and let them handle the billing. (At least that's the case for now. It's possible that those who sign up in the app and pay through the app stores run by Apple, Google, Amazon or Roku will also get the free upgrade to HBO Max too, but that's dependent on AT&T negotiating such a deal with the app stores.)

 

[ncted]

To be one of the HBO Now subscribers who automatically gets access to HBO Max when it launches, you'll need to sign up at HBONow.com and let them handle the billing. (At least that's the case for now. It's possible that those who sign up in the app and pay through the app stores run by Apple, Google, Amazon or Roku will also get the free upgrade to HBO Max too, but that's dependent on AT&T negotiating such a deal with the app stores.)

Yeah, not counting on that with AT&T...I'll subscribe directly.

 

[NashGuy]

Yeah, not counting on that with AT&T...I'll subscribe directly.

It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out. I'm sure that AT&T would like to eventually be able to do with HBO Max what Netflix has begun doing, which is to deny in-app sign-ups in order to avoid paying commissions to the app stores for new customers. And if that's what they plan to do from the get-go with HBO Max when it launches, then AT&T won't engage in any kind of renegotiations with the app stores to allow their HBO Now subs to seamlessly transition over to HBO Max. I expect what AT&T would do in that case is completely cease sign-ups for HBO Now and include weblinks in both the old HBO Now app and the new HBO Max app to direct those looking to sign up over to HBOMax.com, allowing AT&T to keep the full $15 subscription fee.

 

[ncted]

You can get HBO Max for free...maybe...if you already subscribe to a premium AT&T service.

AT&T is making HBO Max free to millions of wireless, video, and internet customers

HBO Max will be free for millions of AT&T customers when it launches on May 27th.

www.theverge.com

I guess the decision to upgrade to Gigabit last month was a good one after all. Now I can drop HBO Now and actually save a buck.

 

[KAB]

Well, the LAUNCH today is a bit wimped out since they have yet to come to terms with Roku, FireTV and LG.