HBO has been the king of exclusive subscription content for nearly 50 years now. It currently operates seven 24-hour channels filled with high-quality original and licensed content. The company took its first steps into the digital age with HBO Now more than five years ago, laying the groundwork for a much-expanded service called HBO Max. hbomax tvsignin This service combines HBO’s impressive library of original shows and movies with even more content from its parent company Warner Media into a single subscription service. HBO Max isn’t just a name change. There’re tons of new content, and HBO is aggressively expanding its subscriber base through some very bold moves. In 2021, all of Warner Bros’ key theatrical releases were made available on HBO Max on the same day as they hit theaters for 31 days. hbomax/tvsignin That won’t be the case for 2022, but HBO Max will have the next best thing, which we will discuss later.

How HBO Max fits into existing HBO offerings

HBO TV and HBO Go: People who subscribe to HBO TV through their cable company can already access all HBO shows, as well as a selection of movies being shown on the cable channel, through the HBO Go app. It’s free for all HBO TV subscribers.

Some HBO TV subscribers will now get free access to HBO Max, depending on WarnerMedia’s deal with the user’s cable company. hbo max/tv sign in These folks won’t have any reason to keep the HBO Go app, which has fewer videos in its library.

HBO Now: Introduced in 2015, HBO Now costs $14.99 per month. It offers the same TV shows, movies, and videos as HBO Go, but it’s targeted at cord-cutters without a cable subscription.

For the most part, HBO Max will replace it. HBO Now subscribers who pay HBO directly, or who subscribe through Apple or Google, will get converted to HBO Max at no additional cost. The HBO Now app on Android and iOS will be relabeled HBO Max through an update on Wednesday, the company said.

However, some platforms don’t have a deal to carry HBO Max. HBO Now will remain for sale on those platforms.

HBO Max: The new service is more extensive than HBO Go and HBO Now. It will have additional non-HBO television shows and movies in its catalog, including “Friends,” “The Big Bang Theory,” and “Lord of the Rings.”

Like HBO Now, it costs $14.99 a month.

That’s quite a bit more expensive than Disney+’s $6.99 offering and Netflix’s $8.99 basic plan. NBCUniversal’s competitor, Peacock, will be free, though there are premium tiers with more content that start at $4.99 per month.

However, there’s a lot of material on HBO Max. hbo max tv sign in The company says it has over 10,000 hours of video, including everything on HBO like “Game of Thrones,” and “Westworld,” as well as non-HBO TV shows like  “Friends” and “South Park.” It also has a robust kids’ section with parental controls, and material for a wide range of ages, including 572 episodes of “Sesame Street.”

There aren’t any ads -- unlike the free version of NBCUniversal’s competitor, Peacock. Multiple members of the same family can stream at the same time.

There’s no 4K content available at launch, but a representative says that it will be added in the future.

How much is it to watch HBO Max?

As of Fall 2021, HBO Max is no longer available as an add-on service through Amazon Prime Video. Prime Video subscribers who had the HBO Max add-on should have received a refund for any remaining days on their subscription. Unfortunately, the only way that Prime subscribers can keep up with the great content on HBO Max is by subscribing directly to this service or one of its bundles.

HBO Max subscriptions are now available through many providers (provider is who you signed up through or who bills you for HBO). hbomax.com tvsign Subscription plans (With Ads or Ad-Free) and monthly or yearly billing depend on your subscription provider. 

If you want to try HBO Max before committing to a month, you can do so through Hulu. Hulu subscribers can add HBO Max to their subscription for 7 days of free access. Once the free trial period expires, you’ll be billed at $14.99 per month for the HBO Max addon. If that sounds confusing, don’t worry — we’ve got you covered with our guide on how to get an hbo max free trial.

If you’ve been waiting to sign up for HBO Max, now’s your chance to get in on the best HBO Max deal we’ve seen online. New users can get HBO Max free online by signing up for this 7-day Hulu trial, which includes both Hulu and HBO Max for free. hbomax.tvsignin  Use it to get a free HBO Max subscription for a week (and free access to all of Hulu’s offerings), then choose to cancel or continue your plan afterwards.

Eligible plans include the ATT Unlimited Elite, Unlimited Plus and Unlimited Choice offerings, along with most of their cable and home internet plans (see full list of ATT HBO Max deals here).

This is one of the best HBO Max deals online, considering ATT’s Unlimited Elite phone plan starts at $50 a month, while an HBO Max subscription price on its own is typically $14.99. (From now until January 25th, you can get a monthly ad-free HBO subscription for just $11.99.)

You can activate a new ATT plan here to get HBO Max for free, or you can upgrade your existing ATT plan to one that includes the HBO Max deal.