HBO’s parent company WarnerMedia is launching its streaming platform, HBO Max, this week. With this launch, WarnerMedia can join the rest of the massive media companies vying for attention in the streaming wars. But how does HBO Max relate to HBO Now, or HBO Go, for that matter? What do these services have in common, besides the name? Whoever in Warner’s design department approved the name “HBO Max” needs to be dressed down. I get there’s probably a branding reason for keeping “HBO” in there, but the addition of another “HBO X” name feels like an attempt to confuse viewers into signing up more than once. So how do you know which service you need (or what you already have for that matter)? And what are the differences between them? I wouldn’t blame you for being confused — HBO’s got a whole page on its website explaining the differences between the different services. But even that’s a little unclear, so let’s go over it one more time. HBO Go is the company’s original app, and the platform via which you could stream HBO shows like Game of Thrones. It’s not the actual service. To use HBO Go, you had to have HBO included with your cable or television package. In other words, if you get your HBO through your cable provider, Go is the app you used to watch the shows. HBO Now, on the other hand, is a standalone service. If you want to watch HBO content but don’t have a cable package, you can purchase an HBO Now subscription. So Now is the service, Go is the app. Hope you’re taking notes, because this will be on the test. How does HBO Max relate to the above? Max is, to put it simply, more than just HBO content, the name notwithstanding. It’s got content from WarnerMedia’s massive back catalog, including shows like Friends, Big Bang Theory, Rick & Morty, Doctor Who, Sesame Street and Looney Tunes. It also has several movies, like the DC films (including the mythic Snyder Cut), the Matrix series, Studio Ghibli’s library, and the Lord of the Rings. So it’s the offerings of Go and Now plus a whole bunch of other stuff. And that’s it! Hopefully now you’ll be able to tell the difference between HBO’s different alphabet soup offerings. If you have neither HBO nor a Now subscription, you can sign up for Max as a standalone streaming service here. Good luck!
