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HBO Subscribers Who Pay Through App Store to Get Free HBO Max Upgrade

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When HBO Max launches on May 27, it will be available on the Apple TV, iPhone, and iPad, and it will be integrated into the TV app, according to Variety.

hbomax1.jpeg

HBO Max content will be listed in the "Watch Now" feature in the Apple TV app and there will be an HBO Max menu. Universal search and Siri features will work with HBO Max as well.

Apple has also established a deal with WarnerMedia that will see existing HBO Now customers billed through the App Store and HBO subscribers who subscribe through Apple TV channels upgraded to HBO Max at no additional charge.

Previously, WarnerMedia said that only customers who subscribe through the HBO Now website and are billed directly through HBO would get the HBO Max upgrade for free.

The service will be available as a native app on the Apple TV HD and Apple TV 4K. Customers with a second or third-generation Apple TV will need to AirPlay HBO Max content from an iOS device to the TV to watch.

New HBO Max customers who have an iPhone, Apple TV, iPad, or Mac will be able to subscribe to the service, priced at $14.99 per month, using in-app purchases on Apple devices.

HBO Max will also be available directly from WarnerMedia, Charter Communications, YouTube TV, and AT&T, which is providing HBO Max for free to some of its customers.

Article Link: HBO Subscribers Who Pay Through App Store to Get Free HBO Max Upgrade
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2020/04/27/hbo-max-app-store-billing-free-upgrade/
Last edited:
I'm still confused as to why there needs to be both an "HBO Now" and an "HBO Max". What the hell is the difference? If they're the same price, why not just get rid of "HBO Now" and make "HBO Max" the new service? Why do they have to do it this way?

And people wonder why folks are frustrated by streaming services. Not only are there too many of them, but now the same company has multiple ones with the same content!
 
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zorinlynx said:
I'm still confused as to why there needs to be both an "HBO Now" and an "HBO Max". What the hell is the difference? If they're the same price, why not just get rid of "HBO Now" and make "HBO Max" the new service? Why do they have to do it this way?

And people wonder why folks are frustrated by streaming services. Not only are there too many of them, but now the same company has multiple ones with the same content!
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I remember reading something like HBO MAX had some exclusive content only available to ppl that subscribe to MAX. So if you had HBO but not MAX. There may be some programs etc exclusive to MAX you miss out on.
 
zorinlynx said:
I'm still confused as to why there needs to be both an "HBO Now" and an "HBO Max". What the hell is the difference? If they're the same price, why not just get rid of "HBO Now" and make "HBO Max" the new service? Why do they have to do it this way?
Click to expand...

Because they tried to use the transition as a way to cut people off in-app/bundled billing, reducing the amount they have to pay Apple, Google, and Amazon.

MacRumors said:
Previously, WarnerMedia said that only customers who subscribe through the HBO Now website and are billed directly through HBO would get the HBO Max upgrade for free.
Click to expand...
 
They reached a deal with Apple? I wonder if that deal included a lower cut by Apple below 30% that all devs supposedly pay...
 
I am actually surprised because I thought a big part of HBO Max was for HBO to not lose money on the channel add ons.

HBO Go (cable subscribers, no Max content)
HBO Max (HBO's new stand alone service with extra content)
HBO Now (the channel add ons through Amazon/Apple), would not include Max content

HBO takes a big hit when people subscribe as a channel add on. Amazon/Apple take something like 30% of the price. HBO Max would only be through HBO and push people away from channel add ons/HBO Go thus letting them keep more of the money.

This new news makes me wonder why the hell is going on haha.
 
I don't even know what HBO Max is. None of their different naming schemes explain what it is. Besides, AT&T ran off the smart people at HBO and are ruining the company.
 
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macduke said:
I don't even know what HBO Max is. None of their different naming schemes explain what it is. Besides, AT&T ran off the smart people at HBO and are ruining the company.
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HBO Max is their new stand alone service that adds more content (eg: Friends). It basically would replace HBO Now for people who pay for HBO directly through HBO, but now it appears to do that across the board (expect HBO Go through cable).

I guess channel add ons will still be called HBO Now, but contain Max content? Who the hell knows. It is one of the worst marketing campaigns I have seen.

For the consumer it doesn't matter unless you have HBO through your cable provider. Those people miss out on the Max content. It cost the same $15/month and you get more content if you pay for it directly through HBO or as a Apple ad on (and possibly Amazon add on).
 
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mattopotamus said:
HBO Max is their new stand alone service that adds more content (eg: Friends). It basically would replace HBO Now for people who pay for HBO directly through HBO, but now it appears to do that across the board (expect HBO Go through cable).

I guess channel add ons will still be called HBO Now, but contain Max content? Who the hell knows. It is one of the worst marketing campaigns I have seen.
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What a cluster, lol.

I still don't get the people who sign up for streaming services based on a show or two. If you like Friends, or The Office, or the Harry Potter Franchise, just buy them on iTunes or whatever. I think I saw the entire Office collection on sale the other day for $35. I just barely missed the sale. Was going to buy it because it's going to leave Netflix next year and I'm not signing up for frickin PEACOCK.
 
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Doesn’t HBO own Silicon Valley (the show not the geographical location)?

Why doesn’t Apple do a sattire based on an antequated cable network struggling to get into the early 21st century’s complex ecosystem of apps, social networks & streaming sites and services?

They could call it HBO Gone.
 
MacRumors said:
Apple has also established a deal with WarnerMedia that will see existing HBO Now customers billed through the App Store and HBO subscribers who subscribe through Apple TV channels upgraded to HBO Max at no additional charge.
Click to expand...
Good. I much prefer to watch HBO through Apple TV Channels, which has higher bitrate and additional perks like offline viewing via download. It's too bad that free customers (some wireless and broadband AT&T customers) are not eligible to use Apple TV Channels.
 
macduke said:
What a cluster, lol.

I still don't get the people who sign up for streaming services based on a show or two. If you like Friends, or The Office, or the Harry Potter Franchise, just buy them on iTunes or whatever. I think I saw the entire Office collection on sale the other day for $35. I just barely missed the sale. Was going to buy it because it's going to leave Netflix next year and I'm not signing up for frickin PEACOCK.
Click to expand...

Probably because it is cheaper to be honest. If you plan on binge watching a show, it is cheaper to pay for 1 month of Netflix than buy it.

It is the same argument people have against buying movies. You can rent a movie 4-5 times for cheaper than it cost to own it.
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paulgriffinpetty said:
Doesn’t HBO own Silicon Valley (the show not the geographical location)?

Why doesn’t Apple do a sattire based on an antequated cable network struggling to get into the early 21st century’s complex ecosystem of apps, social networks & streaming sites and services?

They could call it HBO Gone.
Click to expand...

For as bad as this rebrand has been handled, they still produce by far the best quality shows.
 
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It's great HBO and Cinemax have joined their content into one single service! /s
(but seriously, they could've picked a better name given the name of their competition, unless the confusion was deliberate).
 
since I signed up for a few months for West World, I'll just keep it for one extra month to rewatch Doctor Who, and then cancel till another good HBO show starts up again. Thanks HBO!
 
mattopotamus said:
Probably because it is cheaper to be honest. If you plan on binge watching a show, it is cheaper to pay for 1 month of Netflix than buy it.

It is the same argument people have against buying movies. You can rent a movie 4-5 times for cheaper than it cost to own it.
Click to expand...
Yeah, but those people get tricked into staying with the service for years, lol.
 
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Apple TV is broken across platforms. Some shows work on my TV and some don’t. Move to my Mac and boom, none of it works unless you purchase through iTunes. On my iPhone I have to install a 3rd party app and it might work. Where does HBO Max fall in all of this?
 
It's really not that complicated. If you have an HBO streaming subscription (be it through HBO Now with credit card billing, HBO Now with iTunes billing, or the HBO Apple TV channel), you get the HBO Max content. As someone who perfers the ATV channel (because it allows for downloading and offline viewing within the TV app on iOS devices) I'm happy to hear it.
 
MacRumors said:


When HBO Max launches on May 27, it will be available on the Apple TV, iPhone, and iPad, and it will be integrated into the TV app, according to Variety.

hbomax1.jpeg

HBO Max content will be listed in the "Watch Now" feature in the Apple TV app and there will be an HBO Max menu. Universal search and Siri features will work with HBO Max as well.

Apple has also established a deal with WarnerMedia that will see existing HBO Now customers billed through the App Store and HBO subscribers who subscribe through Apple TV channels upgraded to HBO Max at no additional charge.

Previously, WarnerMedia said that only customers who subscribe through the HBO Now website and are billed directly through HBO would get the HBO Max upgrade for free.

The service will be available as a native app on the Apple TV HD and Apple TV 4K. Customers with a second or third-generation Apple TV will need to AirPlay HBO Max content from an iOS device to the TV to watch.

New HBO Max customers who have an iPhone, Apple TV, iPad, or Mac will be able to subscribe to the service, priced at $14.99 per month, using in-app purchases on Apple devices.

HBO Max will also be available directly from WarnerMedia, Charter Communications, YouTube TV, and AT&T, which Not sure how
zorinlynx said:
I'm still confused as to why there needs to be both an "HBO Now" and an "HBO Max". What the hell is the difference? If they're the same price, why not just get rid of "HBO Now" and make "HBO Max" the new service? Why do they have to do it this way?

And people wonder why folks are frustrated by streaming services. Not only are there too many of them, but now the same company has multiple ones with the same content!
Click to expand...
I agree and I don’t understand how they get away with marketing this as a free upgrade all over the place. What’s free? It’s the same freaking price why not just make all the HBO services one.
Oh. Because at&t, market super genius
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