HBO Now
Parent | HBO |
---|---|
URL | play |
Registration | Monthly subscription through authorized distributor required to access content |
Users | 5 million paying subscribers (2018) |
Launched | April 7, 2015[2] |
Current status | App replaced by HBO Max; served as default HBO streaming platform for select digital marketplaces until December 2020 |
HBO Now (formerly named HBO from July 2020) was an American subscription
HBO Now was succeeded on May 27, 2020 by
Development
On October 15, 2014, following a trial of a similar service in
On December 9, 2014, it was reported that HBO had outsourced development of the service's infrastructure to
The service was officially unveiled as HBO Now during an
Following the end of the exclusivity period, HBO Now for
On May 27, 2020,
Apple and Hulu would reach agreements to migrate their HBO Now customers to HBO Max.[18][19] On June 12, 2020, HBO announced that the HBO Now app on remaining platforms not yet supported by HBO Max (including Amazon Fire OS, Roku OS and select legacy TiVo devices) would be rebranded as "HBO” on August 1.[20] Support for TiVo devices was discontinued on August 31 from the same year, albeit without a replacement as the DVR manufacturer had not reached a deal to supersede it with HBO Max.[21] The HBO app was relegated thereafter to a default HBO streaming platform for remaining major streaming marketplaces Amazon and Roku, which delayed replacement for several months due to disagreements over contractual distribution terms. Amazon Fire OS and Fire TV devices replaced it with HBO Max on November 16, 2020.[22] Roku OS continued to offer the HBO app thereafter; however, on December 16, Roku reached an agreement with WarnerMedia to offer HBO Max on its TV sets and set-top devices effective the following day. As a result, the HBO Now/HBO streaming app was discontinued on December 17, with subscribers of the app through Roku being converted to HBO Max and Roku remotes manufactured between 2015 and 2020 with a HBO Now shortcut button now automatically redirecting users to the HBO Max app.[1]
Content
HBO Now offered on-demand access to most of HBO's library of original series, but did not have the rights to several pre-Internet era series such as
Like with HBO Go and HBO On Demand, HBO Now strictly served as a video on demand service and had no access to near-real-time streams of HBO's linear channels – unlike similar (in particular,
Availability
HBO Now is only available to customers in the United States and certain territories of the same country. Due to regional rights restrictions, HBO cannot offer the service outside of the country, and its
In many other countries, HBO has licensed exclusive rights to its programming to television networks owned by third parties, including
On April 1, 2015, as part of an agreement with Time Warner that renewed its carriage contract for the
The over-the-top service was launched in Latin America in June 2017, although under the name HBO Go.
Reception
Analysts predicted HBO Now had over one million paying subscribers on iOS platforms in July 2015.[36] In February 2016, Time Warner disclosed that HBO Now had over 800,000 paying subscribers, by February 2017 it had two million.[37][38] A year later, in February 2018, it had grown to five million.[4]
References
- ^ a b c Tim Baysinger (December 16, 2020). "HBO Max Finally Agrees to Deal With Roku Ahead of 'Wonder Woman 1984' Debut". The Wrap. The Wrap Media Group.
- ^ a b c Baumgartner, Jeff (April 7, 2015). "'HBO Now' Goes Live". Multichannel News. NewBay Media.
- ^ a b "HBO Now coming in April for $14.99 per month, Apple TV price cut to $69". The Verge. Vox Media. March 9, 2015.
- ^ a b "HBO's Online Channel Surpasses 5 Million U.S. Subscribers". Bloomberg. February 2018.
- ^ "HBO To Launch Stand-Alone Online Service, Without Cable, In 2015: Time Warner Investor Day". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. October 15, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
- ^ "HBO Go-It-Alone: There Goes the Cable Bundle?". The Atlantic. Atlantic Media. October 15, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
- ^ "HBO CTO Otto Berkes Resigns After Network Enlists MLB to Build OTT Platform". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. December 9, 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
- ^ "HBO Now on Apple TV Hands On". The Verge. April 7, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
- ^ "You won't be able to buy HBO Now directly from HBO". The Verge. Vox Media. March 16, 2015.
- ^ a b c "HBO officially announces April launch of HBO Now at Apple event". Gigaom. Archived from the original on March 9, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
- ^ "Apple only takes 15% cut on HBO Now, Netflix, and Hulu subscriptions". Cult of Mac. April 13, 2015.
- ^ "HBO Now moves beyond Apple, arrives on Android and Amazon devices". The Verge. July 16, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
- ^ "HBO Now launches on Xbox One, 360, ending winter for Game of Thrones fans". Ars Technica. April 21, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
- ^ "HBO and Cinemax Coming to PS Vue, HBO NOW Launching Soon on PS4, PS3". PlayStation.Blog. September 15, 2016. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
- ^ Dwayne Benefield. PS Vue: HBO, Cinemax, New Ultra Plan Arrive Today, playstation.com, September 29, 2016.
- ^ Spangler, Todd (July 9, 2019). "'Friends' to Leave Netflix for WarnerMedia's HBO Max Streaming Service in 2020". Variety. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
- ^ Spangler, Todd; Schneider, Michael (October 30, 2019). "HBO Max vs. HBO Now vs. HBO Go: Why WarnerMedia's Strategy May Lead to Brand Confusion". Variety. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
- ^ Spangler, Todd (May 1, 2020). "Hulu to Offer HBO Max at Launch, Free to Most Current HBO Customers". Variety. Archived from the original on May 2, 2020. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
- ^ Gartenberg, Chaim (April 27, 2020). "WarnerMedia expands free HBO Max deal to HBO subscribers who pay through Apple's services". The Verge. Archived from the original on April 28, 2020. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
- ^ Solsman, Joan E. "HBO is getting rid of HBO Go, renaming HBO Now since HBO Max is live". CNET. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
- ^ Ben Munson (August 27, 2020). "TiVo DVRs will lose HBO app at the end of August". Fierce Video. Questex LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
- ^ Sarah Perez (November 16, 2020). "HBO Max arrives on Amazon Fire TV devices". TechCrunch. Verizon Media. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
- ^ Erik Adams, Sam Adams; Phil Dyess-Nugent, Will Harris and Kyle Ryan (May 15, 2013). "It's not TV—and it's not available on HBO Go: 27-plus HBO originals unavailable from the streaming service". The A.V. Club.
- ^ It's Official: 'The Larry Sanders Show' Coming to HBO Go and HBO Now in September. The Hollywood Reporter. 30 July 2016.
- ^ HBO Original Series Arli$$: The Art of the Sports Superagen Available to Stream on HBO NOW and HBO GO Starting September 14, 2018. The Futon Critic. 23 August 2018.
- Gannett Company. Associated Press. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
- ^ Adam Epstein (March 11, 2015). "What does HBO Now mean for budding Cinemax?". Quartz. Atlantic Media.
- ^ "Order Cinemax". Retrieved January 27, 2020.
- ^ "HBO Now users outside US to be 'cut off'". BBC News. April 21, 2015. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
- ^ "HBO is cracking down on Canadians accessing streaming service HBO Now". Financial Post. April 22, 2015. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
- ^ "All-New Crave Features HBO Collection". TVCanada. November 1, 2018. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
- ^ "HBO Goes Direct to Consumer in Canada to Challenge Netflix". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
- News Corp.Retrieved April 6, 2015. (subscription required)
- ^ Chris Welch (April 1, 2015). "HBO is coming to Sling TV this month". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
- ^ 6 Ways to Watch HBO. Consumer Reports.
- ^ "Analysts: HBO Now already has about a million subscribers". Quartz. July 2015. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
- ^ Steel, Emily (February 10, 2016). "HBO Now Has 800,000 Paid Streaming Subscribers, Time Warner Says". The New York Times. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
- ^ Littleton, Cynthia (February 8, 2017). "HBO Now Grows to More Than 2 Million Domestic Subscribers". Retrieved September 20, 2017.