HBO GO Shutting Down, HBO Now Rebranding as 'HBO' Following HBO Max Launch

[MacRumors]

The HBO GO streaming service and app will be shut down at the end of July following the launch of HBO Max, HBO parent company WarnerMedia announced today (via The Wrap). HBO Now, HBO's other streaming service, will be called just "HBO" going forward, so the two streaming services available will be "HBO" and "HBO Max."

According to WarnerMedia, most customers who use HBO GO are now able to use HBO Max instead, which means the HBO GO app is no longer necessary. Apps will be removed by July 31, and HBO GO will be available on the web until August 31.

Now that HBO Max has launched and is widely distributed, we can implement some significant changes to our app offering in the U.S. As part of that plan, we will be sunsetting our HBO GO service in the U.S. We intend to remove the HBO GO app from primary platforms as of July 31, 2020.
Most customers who have traditionally used HBO GO to stream HBO programming are now able to do so via HBO Max, which offers access to all of HBO together with so much more. Additionally, the HBO NOW app and desktop experience will be rebranded to HBO. Existing HBO NOW subscribers will have access to HBO through the rebranded HBO app on platforms where it remains available and through play.hbo.com. HBO Max provides not only the robust offering of HBO but also a vast WarnerMedia library and acquired content and originals through a modern product.

HBO's first streaming app was HBO GO, launched in 2010 with the purpose of allowing HBO subscribers to stream HBO TV shows and movies. HBO in 2015 introduced HBO Now, a standalone monthly streaming service not tied to a cable subscription.

HBO introduced its newest streaming service, HBO Max, on May 27. HBO Max combines HBO content with shows and films from Warner Bros and Turner TV, so it features classic movies and TV shows like "Friends." HBO Max also features original content, and overall, offers more to watch than HBO Now and HBO GO.

More information on the differences between each of the streaming services can be found on HBO's website.

Article Link: HBO GO Shutting Down, HBO Now Rebranding as 'HBO' Following HBO Max Launch

 

[nwcs]

I think this article set a record for how many times HBO can be put into an article.

 

[nattK]

I'm not sure how HBO Now (or soon to be just "HBO") differs from HBO Max. Don't they cost the same anyway? Or do they intend to reduce the price of HBO Now and keep $14.99/month for HBO Max?

 

[freezah]

Hope they introduce new HBO app as the GO is one of the worst applications ever. Keeps loosing credentials, warns about lack of internet even though everything is totally fine with connection. Called their hotline multiple times - always same answer “please reinstall application”, great idea when you have to do it on all your mobile and atv devices.

 

[td2243]

Dear HBO,

We don’t care about the name. We want 4K and buffer-free viewing.

Sincerely,
The Growing Impatient

 

[Trik]

Great, now add 4K content... right now I'm not sure what Max is referring to, but it certainly isn't resolution.

 

[subjonas]

So for the same 14.99/mo you can get either HBO with less content or HBO Max with more content. Tough choice.

 

[whyamihere]

What a cluster. They should've gotten rid of both Go and Now since neither provide anything that isn't already in Max. Literally no reason to keep "HBO" and "HBO Max", when the latter is the former plus more. And Cinemax must not be long for this world, considering HBO owns both and stole the Max from it. What a cluster.

 

[sub150]

HBO = $15/month through a third party vendor that hasn't signed a deal with HBO to include Max (Amazon, Roku)
HBO Max = $15/month with HBO or a third party vendor that has a deal to include Max (U-Verse, DirecTV, AT&T, iTunes, YouTube TV, Charter Spectrum, Hulu, XFinity, Verizon, Cox)

 

[Rigby]

I'm not sure how HBO Now (or soon to be just "HBO") differs from HBO Max. Don't they cost the same anyway? Or do they intend to reduce the price of HBO Now and keep $14.99/month for HBO Max?

HBO is HBO Max minus the additional Warner content. The app will only exist for owners of devices that don't support the Max app (such as currently the Roku). In the long run it will probably go away completely.

 

[thingstoponder]

What? Why would Now be rebranded as HBO instead of Go? I thought Max meant Now was going away as it’s superior in every way and costs the same.

 

[zorinlynx]

"Hey man do you have HBO?"

(looks at the news lately...)

"I'm... I'm not sure."

 

[thingstoponder]

HBO = $15/month through a third party vendor that hasn't signed a deal with HBO to include Max (Amazon, Roku)
HBO Max = $15/month with HBO or a third party vendor that has a deal to include Max (U-Verse, DirecTV, AT&T, iTunes, YouTube TV, Charter Spectrum, Hulu, XFinity, Verizon, Cox)

Oh that makes sense. I was worried about Go going away considering all the info I’d seen so far didnt say anything about Comcast supporting Max. Now it’s letting me sign in.

 

[zorinlynx]

My previous joking post aside...

It's strange when a company as big as HBO and its parent can't figure out how to brand themselves. They keep changing things up constantly, confusing customers and potential customers alike.

Why can't they just call it "HBO" period? That's what it used to be. Either you had HBO, or you didn't. There weren't different degrees of HBO.

 

[Northgrove]

I wonder if all this will affect our crappy, weird HBO Nordic service...

 

[CharlesShaw]

I used to be an advocate of "cutting the cable" but it's becoming so complicated that I no longer have the energy to explain how to watch HBO on Apple TV.

 

[Surrix]

I don't understand why they would need/want to maintain separate apps for each level of service. Just have an "HBO" app and have the available content differ based on what level of service you subscribe to.

 

[Guda.FL]

Haha for a second, i though “Great, which twitter group forced them to shut down HBO Max weeks after launching”.

 

[Rigby]

It's strange when a company as big as HBO and its parent can't figure out how to brand themselves. They keep changing things up constantly, confusing customers and potential customers alike.

What else were they supposed to do? They wanted to leverage the "HBO" brand for their new streaming service (so it had to have a new name with "HBO" in it), but on the other hand there were still three legacy services that have "HBO" in their names that they couldn't just turn off without p!ssing off the existing customers (the cable service, HBO Now and HBO Go). They calculated that the value of using the HBO brand would outweigh the initial customer confusion. Now they are taking the first step to consolidate the brands.

 

[Ar40]

My previous joking post aside...

It's strange when a company as big as HBO and its parent can't figure out how to brand themselves. They keep changing things up constantly, confusing customers and potential customers alike.

Why can't they just call it "HBO" period? That's what it used to be. Either you had HBO, or you didn't. There weren't different degrees of HBO.

I hear that, but ATT is trying to move beyond the HBO consumer base and draw in families and children. You can see that from the originals HBO Max launched with, Elmo, Craftopia, Looney Tunes, plus the catalogs of animated shows they brought in.

WB/ATT wants a larger consumer base than the adult prestige drama fans and adult comedy fans that have been the base on old HBO. A new platform and new brand identity helps lure people in.

it would be like if Disney+ was just the old Disney channel app with everything crammed into it. Also the reason Disney didn’t just rely on Hulu for a platform (plus to differentiate the content, with family shows on Disney and adult shows+ on Hulu).

 

[oneMadRssn]

Dear HBO,

We don’t care about the name. We want 4K and buffer-free viewing.

Sincerely,
The Growing Impatient

Great, now add 4K content... right now I'm not sure what Max is referring to, but it certainly isn't resolution.

This interview with the head of HBO Max gives me very little confidence.

I’m not going to have a feature dialogue with you, but as somebody that likes to get close to the metal, I can tell you that there’s a lot of features and a lot of capabilities that we would have liked to launch with that we didn’t.

It just comes down to a matter of priority and getting a product to market. When you’re asking about 4K and HDR and Atmos — not unimportant and definitely something on the roadmap. It had to be a deliberate choice of what to launch with and when. And those trade-offs happen daily. It’ll come. It wasn’t forgotten. I think it was just a deliberate prioritization.

The head of HBO Max on launching without Roku, adding 4K HDR, and the Snyder Cut

An interview with AT&T’s Tony Goncalves on The Vergecast.

www.theverge.com

wtf for real? First, what a standoffish answer. Second, you're launching a new streaming service in 2020 and 4k HDR were deliberately left off for something you prioritized higher. What could that possibly have been when HBO Max feels just like HBO GO repackaged with more content? To me this sounds like they put very little into developing tech, and seem to prioritize non-tech features over making sure the tech is where it needs to be.

 

[julesme]

The sloppiness of the HBO Max rollout surprises me until I remember it’s being spearheaded by the bastion of 19th century innovation known as...American Telephone & Telegraph.

 

[Professor Rucy]

If I want to watch HBO on an app, I want to search for “HBO” and download “HBO.” There should be one single app, and whatever subscription I have should be tied to this single app.

I don’t understand why this is so damned complicated.

 

[Rigby]

If I want to watch HBO on an app, I want to search for “HBO” and download “HBO.” There should be one single app, and whatever subscription I have should be tied to this single app.

I don’t understand why this is so damned complicated.

Eventually there will only be the HBO Max app. The HBO app will likely go away once they have resolved their differences with Roku and Amazon.

 

[Jyby]

Science Rules!