HBO is sunsetting HBO Go to simplify offerings, but it's still very confusing

The subtle differences between HBO Go, HBO Now, and HBO Max make things pretty confusing. In fact, we needed to make a whole explainer article related to the streaming platforms. Now, HBO’s parent company Warner Media has announced it’s going to at least attempt to make things simpler (via TechCrunch).

According to Warner Media’s statement, the company will start to sunset HBO Go soon with the goal of removing the app from its various platforms by July 31, 2020. Customers who use HBO Go will move to HBO Max instead. Meanwhile, HBO Now will be rebranded to just HBO.

You follow all that?

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HBO Go, HBO Now, and HBO Max: What’s changing?

To make things simpler, we’re going to break down exactly what this means. We’re just going to use simple bullet points as that will likely be less confusing than writing a paragraph with four different HBO references jumbled up in it.

• HBO Go is the app you use if you subscribe to HBO through your cable or internet provider. This app is going away by July 31.
• When the HBO Go app vanishes, anyone who used that app will now use HBO Max with no added charge.
• HBO Max is the new service from Warner Media that includes the standard HBO content with a whole bunch of other extra content. This app will remain unchanged.
• If you use HBO Now, the app-only service that doesn’t tie to a cable subscription, those apps will get rebranded to just HBO.

In the announcement, Warner Media makes a not-so-subtle push for HBO Max being the better option for those with an HBO Now subscription. It wouldn’t surprise us if at some point in the future the company pushes HBO Now subs to HBO Max. Our guess is it would offer an introductory discount offer of some kind to entice people to leave before shutting the whole thing down. Then it would only have HBO Max, with HBO Go and HBO Now completely eliminated.

For now, though, all you need to know is that if you use HBO Go you’ll soon be using HBO Max, and if you use HBO Now you’ll soon be using just HBO.