What is HBO Max Here’s everything we know (Update - The Batman TV show) - Android

Update: July 10, 2020: We have updated this post with word that HBO Max will be the home for a new TV series based on the upcoming DC Comics superhero movie The Batman.

The success of Netflix and other premium video streaming services over the past several years has shaken up the entire entertainment industry. For a while, the major Hollywood studios were more than happy to license their movie and TV properties to these services. Now that has changed, as those streaming services are now creating their own original content that competes directly with the old school studios.

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As a result, companies like Disney and NBCUniversal have launched or will launch their own streaming services. They are planning to take back their back catalog of films and TV series with them. That’s also what’s happening with WarnerMedia, the AT&T-owned entertainment group that operates, among many other things, HBO, Warner Bros, and CNN. Recently, the conglomerate announced its own dedicated streaming service, HBO Max.

HBO Max is now available in the US. Here’s what we know about this new streaming service. You can sign up for the service at the link below, with a seven day free trial, or you could be able to get it at no additional cost with certain deals.

What is HBO Max?

HBO Max is the name for the new streaming service from WarnerMedia. Subscribers can access 10,000 hours of content on the service. Even more content will be added in the months and years to come.

How is it different from HBO Now?

HBO Now is the older streaming service from WarnerMedia. It offers access to all of the premium cable network’s current movies, along with current and past original HBO shows, without the need for a cable TV service. On July 31, HBO Now will officially disappear as HBO Max will replace it for most platforms.

When will HBO Max launch?

WarnerMedia has now launched the service in the US.

Platforms for the service

At the moment, WarnerMedia has confirmed HBO Max will be available on the internet-based TV service YouTube TV. We also know that Apple’s iOS devices like its iPhone, iPad, and the Apple TV set-top box will support the service. The Apple TV app will also allow people to sign up for an HBO Max “channel”. Also, HBO Max will be available on Android smartphones and tablets, Chromecast devices, and Android TV set-top boxes, and smart TVs. It will also be available for PCs via supported web browsers.

HBO Max apps will also be available on Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s Playstation 4 game consoles. Samsung smart TVs from 2016 to current models will also be able to access the service directly.

Unfortunately, the service does not yet support the popular Roku or Amazon Fire TV streaming platforms. The current HBO Now apps will be updated for those platforms after July 31 and will simply be known as HBO app for Roku and Fire TV, with only access to HBO content. We will update this post when more platform info is revealed.

What does it cost to sign up?

HBO Max costs $14.99 a month. That’s also the same price WarnerMedia charged for the HBO Now service. That means those users will get all of HBO’s content, plus a ton of extra TV shows and movies, with no price increase. The service will be ad-free, although some reports have indicated that WarnerMedia might launch an ad-supported version of HBO Max at some point after the official launch. If that happens, it’s likely the cost to sign up will be much less.

Can current HBO and Now subscribers get HBO Max for free?

Some will, and some may not. HBO Now subscribers who have signed up directly from HBO will get HBO Max at no extra cost.

If you are a Charter cable TV user, and currently have an active HBO subscription, you can get HBO Max for free. Those subscribers will just need to sign into the HBO Max app and they are all set. Any new Charter customers can purchase HBO Max directly from the cable company.

WarnerMedia has also secured agreements with other cable TV providers. Altice USA cable users who have either HBO or HBO Now on their  Optimum and Suddenlink plans can get HBO Max for free. The same goes for HBO and HBO Now subscribers on Verizon’s Fios TV and Fios Internet services. Comcast HBO viewers and Cox Communication’s Contour HBO subscribers will get the same treatment. Smaller cable TV companies that are a part of the NCTC organizations can also provide HBO Max for free for their HBO subscribers.

If you signed up for HBO Now via any other third-party service, such as Amazon Prime Video, you can’t get HBO Max for free.

Has Friends left Netflix for HBO Max?

The short answer is yes. Friends, the hit 1990s sitcom about six friends who work, live, and love in New York City, remains one of the most popular TV shows. Netflix bought the rights to all 10 seasons of the show from its owner Warner Bros to stream on its service, beginning in 2015. However, WarnerMedia is taking back those streaming rights for Friends. The show has left Netflix and is now back on HBO Max.

Is there really going to be a Friends reunion special on HBO Max?

Yes. Deadline reports that all six cast members, along with the original creators of the show, will reunite for an unscripted Friends special that will be shown exclusively on HBO Max. This won’t be an actual episode of the show. The cast and creators will be getting together on the original stage, but as themselves. They will likely talk about their time on the show and offer up some behind-the-scenes secrets. This will be the first time all six cast members will get together in one place for a filmed special (and they will all reportedly get paid a ton of money for it).

The Friends special was planned to be available on the first day of the launch of HBO Max. However, due to the current coronavirus outbreak, the production of the special has been postponed.

HBO Max is the new streaming home for The Big Bang Theory

HBO Max is the exclusive streaming home for one of the biggest recent sitcoms, The Big Bang Theory. All 12 seasons and 279 episodes of the show that centers on a group of geeky scientists will finally are now available on HBO Max. The Hollywood Reporter states that the deal will last for five years, and it cost hundreds of millions of dollars for HBO Max to secure the rights to the show.

HBO Max will also be the home for Young Sheldon, the spin-off series that’s now in its third season.

The Doctor Who reboot is available on HBO Max

HBO Max has also snapped up the US streaming rights to a number of BBC shows, including the first 11 seasons of the rebooted Doctor Who series that began in 2005. Previously, the US streaming rights to the new Doctor Who show were claimed by Amazon Prime Video. The classic Doctor Who series will continue to be available for streaming via BritBox. The current season 12 of Doctor Who will be shown first on the BBC America cable channel, but will be available for streaming via HBO Max after its cable TV run.

Other BBC shows that will be available on HBO Max will include the original UK version of The Office. You will also see past seasons of Top Gear, Luther, and The Honorable Woman on HBO Max.

Sesame Street is moving to HBO Max

In the near future, the answer to the question, “Can you tell me how to get . . . how to get to Sesame Street” will be, “HBO Max.” The Hollywood Reporter states the long-running children’s show, now in its 50th season, will move from HBO to the HBO Max streaming service. It will begin in 2020 for the start of the show’s 51st season and will last for at least five years. The deal also includes a number of new spin-off shows and specials, plus the entire 50 previous seasons as library content. New episodes of Sesame Street will continue to be shown on the PBS broadcast network several months after they first go live on HBO Max.

South Park is now on the service

South Park, the hit animated comedy about four kids from South Park, Colorado, has now moved from Hulu to HBO Max. It will offer the entire 23 seasons on the service and will show the three upcoming seasons as well. Only five episodes from the show won’t be on HBO Ma