# HBO Max launch thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** hbomax-wb-dc\ **Created:** [May 27, 2020, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-max-launch-thread/854571 "2020-05-27T23:42:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-max-launch-thread/854571/21 "2020-05-28T17:50:36Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I’m trying to figure out what HBO Max has that regular HBO does not have. I don’t expect anyone to do my homework for me but if anyone knows off the top of their head, I’d appreciate it if you’d let me know. TCM and Ghili film to name just two, some classic cartoons like Looney Toons, The Flinstones Scooby Doo and a few others. The Big Bang Theory and Dr Who. Plus other things that I think are exclusive but Im not sure. And Friends. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-max-launch-thread/854571/22 "2020-05-28T18:30:53Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > I see they have TCM and Studio Ghibli. I might join just for those. Is there any other way to stream Studio Ghibli movies in the US? They are available for purchase or rental on Google Play. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-max-launch-thread/854571/23 "2020-05-28T18:44:07Z")
Well all I can tell is that this release of HBO Max has completely fucked up Optimum viewers who use HBO Go. I can no longer sign into HBO Go (\*\*or \*\*HBO Max, which it says I should be able to!) Reading recent threads on r/optimum & r/hbogo, this is happening to many many people. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-max-launch-thread/854571/24 "2020-05-28T19:36:20Z")
Did you try HBO Now? So there are now three HBO streaming services (Go, Now, and Max) and the hell if I know what the difference is between them, or if the names provide any clue. HBO Max also doesn’t seem to be available on a TV with chomecast built in, I imagine it only works with an actual chomecast device. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-max-launch-thread/854571/25 "2020-05-28T19:42:33Z")
I have been reading about this a little this morning and it looks like Max replaces Go at least in some contexts. It looks like the reason that Max isn’t (yet) on Fire, Roku and some cable companies is that HBO hasn’t yet made a deal with those entities. Once a deal is reached, it will be trivial for them to switch from whatever version of HBO that they have to Max. A simple Google search will show you a way to get HBO Max on your Firestick. If you are already paying for a different version of HBO, you are not violating any agreement. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-max-launch-thread/854571/26 "2020-05-28T19:49:36Z")
Max is replacing Now, not Go. Go is streaming access to regular HBO for HBO Cable Subscribers. Now is streaming access to regular HBO for people without an HBO cable subscription. Max is streaming access to regular HBO **PLUS** additional content from Warner. If you already have an HBO Now account, you now have HBO Max. HBO did make deals with some cable companies to give HBO subscribers access to HBO Max. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-max-launch-thread/854571/27 "2020-05-28T19:55:31Z")
HBO MAX replaces HBO NOW. HBO GO is a separate service that has been available for years to all subscribers who already pay for HBO through their TV provider. They also are supposed to give HBO MAX for free to those who pay for HBO through their TV provider, only they borked this release and now neither GO or MAX is working to sign in through a TV provider. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-max-launch-thread/854571/28 "2020-05-28T20:04:01Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Max is replacing Now, not Go. > > Go is streaming access to regular HBO for HBO Cable Subscribers. > Now is streaming access to regular HBO for people without an HBO cable subscription. > Max is streaming access to regular HBO **PLUS** additional content from Warner. > > If you already have an HBO Now account, you now have HBO Max. > HBO did make deals with some cable companies to give HBO subscribers access to HBO Max. Thanks for the clarification. So what the hell do I have if I don’t have cable or satellite but bought HBO through Amazon Prime Video? I watch HBO either on tv via my Firestick or on my tablet with the Amazon Prime Video ap. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-max-launch-thread/854571/29 "2020-05-28T22:42:19Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Thanks for the clarification. So what the hell do I have if I don’t have cable or satellite but bought HBO through Amazon Prime Video? I watch HBO either on tv via my Firestick or on my tablet with the Amazon Prime Video ap. For the time being, it looks like nothing is changing for you. While your HBO channel subscription on Amazon Prime Video is (I think) effectively an HBO Now subscription, you do not currently get access to HBO Max because you bought it via Amazon. FWIW, Amazon tried to publicly shame WarnerMedia by releasing a statement complaining how their channel subscribers wouldn’t be upgraded, so the negotiations probably aren’t going too swimmingly. WarnerMedia also removed HBO as a channel from the Apple TV, so that’s could be an indication that they intend to keep complete control over the HBO Max experience. You can still get HBO Max on the Apple TV, though, but only though the HBO Max app directly, whereas, as mentioned, it isn’t officialy on Roku or the Fire TV yet. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-max-launch-thread/854571/30 "2020-05-29T05:13:47Z")
I got it yesterday. I saw nothing that interested me at all that wasn’t on HBO Now already, which was almost nothing. I’m not a big movie watcher so it’s not too surprising. MY KIDS though, they are PUMPED, mostly for the anime. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2020, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-max-launch-thread/854571/31 "2020-06-01T00:19:04Z")
> [@zbuzz](#): > > For the time being, it looks like nothing is changing for you. While your HBO channel subscription on Amazon Prime Video is (I think) effectively an HBO Now subscription, you do not currently get access to HBO Max because you bought it via Amazon. > > FWIW, Amazon tried to publicly shame WarnerMedia by releasing a statement complaining how their channel subscribers wouldn’t be upgraded, so the negotiations probably aren’t going too swimmingly. WarnerMedia also removed HBO as a channel from the Apple TV, so that’s could be an indication that they intend to keep complete control over the HBO Max experience. You can still get HBO Max on the Apple TV, though, but only though the HBO Max app directly, whereas, as mentioned, it isn’t officialy on Roku or the Fire TV yet. If you “jailbreak” your Firestick, you can get HBO Max which is apparently easy to do (just Google it). I haven’t done that to my Firestick because I don’t think that it’s generally ethical to do it. In the case of getting HBO Max, I wouldn’t have a problem with it though if you already pay for HBO. That said, there isn’t anything on HBO Max not on HBO Now that I want to watch so far as I know so I can’t be bothered. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2020, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-max-launch-thread/854571/32 "2020-06-01T00:40:51Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > Also, I was already an HBO subscriber through Comcast. We were told we had to pay for Max so we subscribed early on their free trial, which is ended up costing $12. (not that I don’t have $12, but it’s also not free). We are now being told that Comcast customers get HBO max free… Eventually. When is unclear as it’s also not actually available on Comcast yet. BTW, if you’re a Comcast subscriber, you may have free access to Peacock, which is yet another new streaming service, from NBC Universal. ---
**Author:** ![CastletonSnob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ea924/32.png) [@CastletonSnob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastletonSnob)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2020, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-max-launch-thread/854571/33 "2020-06-01T01:27:15Z")
HBO Max released a trailer that includes upcoming shows on Twitter. > ---
**Author:** ![Driver8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Driver8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Driver8)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2020, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-max-launch-thread/854571/34 "2020-06-01T05:36:52Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Max is replacing Now, not Go. > > Go is streaming access to regular HBO for HBO Cable Subscribers. > Now is streaming access to regular HBO for people without an HBO cable subscription. > Max is streaming access to regular HBO **PLUS** additional content from Warner. > > If you already have an HBO Now account, you now have HBO Max. > HBO did make deals with some cable companies to give HBO subscribers access to HBO Max. I currently have HBO Now on a Roku TV, which means I cannot be upgraded automatically to Max as their advertising implied. The quote above tells me everything I need to know about AT&T and whether it’s going to fuck everything up or not. What an astonishingly horrific failure of branding. Just a complete, confusing mess. I bet this is the brainchild of a “caretaker” class of executives. People who might be able to keep a toilet paper company running as-is for fifty years by not making any sudden moves but just don’t have a fucking clue if thrust into an industry undergoing seismic changes. People who spend more time trying to figure out how to make internet pricing as confusing as possible instead of actually building a product that consumers actually like. One of the articles I read talked about the dilution of the HBO brand as something associated with quality programming. I can see how that would play out. Right now, once you’re past the HBO Now versus Go confusion, HBO Now is relatively straightforward and its easy to see the value in paying $15 per month. I go to the app on the Roku and I see a lot of the high quality programs or movies that made HBO a household name. They’re making a compelling argument I can use to justify paying, right there on the home screen. My understanding from the new HBO Max interface is that it puts tired sitcoms, etc. from the rest of the catalog up top too. Which makes it just another Netflix, where quality stuff exists but you sure do have to filter through a lot of junk. I don’t need another Netflix. I’m already subscribed to Netflix. ---
**Author:** ![CastletonSnob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ea924/32.png) [@CastletonSnob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastletonSnob)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-max-launch-thread/854571/35 "2020-06-02T13:16:45Z")
HBO Max had only 90,000 mobile downloads on launch day. How big of a disaster is that? Should we keep in mind that HBO Max didn’t launch on Roku or Firestick, and it only launched in the US? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-max-launch-thread/854571/36 "2020-06-02T13:45:54Z")
Roku plus Fire is like 60% of the streaming market. I don’t know what percent of HBO subscribers stream versus traditional cable and satellite but it’s still an epic clusterfuck. Isn’t Warner the same ones who screwed up the Dodgers deal? What’s going on over there? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-max-launch-thread/854571/37 "2020-06-02T13:56:02Z")
I assume that it’s a negotiation issue; Roku wanted more than HBO wanted to pay so they’re trying to come to some agreement. Netflix is too important for Roku to ask too much money but perhaps they felt that they could demand more from HBO. Kind of like how some networks and some cable providers negotiate over the carriage deal and sometimes some networks aren’t available to some cable or satellite subscribers. (I think HBO is still not available on the Dish satellite service.) ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2020, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-max-launch-thread/854571/38 "2020-06-02T14:30:42Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Roku plus Fire is like 60% of the streaming market. I don’t know what percent of HBO subscribers stream versus traditional cable and satellite but it’s still an epic clusterfuck. > > Isn’t Warner the same ones who screwed up the Dodgers deal? What’s going on over there? They are the worst. They are the ones who screwed up the Dodgers deal which should have made everyone involved piles of money, but instead… This is also a massive misfire of a rollout. People should be losing jobs over how badly this was screwed up. ---
**Author:** ![CastletonSnob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ea924/32.png) [@CastletonSnob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastletonSnob)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-max-launch-thread/854571/39 "2020-06-03T11:55:39Z")
Will HBO Max be discontinued in a year? It didn’t launch worldwide, it’s not available on Roku or Firestick, and it doesn’t support 4K or HDR. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2020, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-max-launch-thread/854571/40 "2020-06-05T11:45:46Z")
But other than that, how did you enjoy the play, Mrs Lincoln? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-max-launch-thread/854571.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hbo-max-launch-thread/854571.md?page=3)