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HBO Max, HBO Now, and HBO Go: What's the difference and what's changed?

In the US, it's just HBO Max for streaming customers.
By

Published onJuly 25, 2021

HBO Max logo on smartphone stock photo 2
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

HBO Max is the recently launched streaming service from Warner Media. But what happened to the previous streaming services, HBO Now and HBO Go? We are here to let you know that both are now over.

Read: Best HBO Max movies

Here’s a look at what the older services used to be, and how both have been replaced by the new service. You can sign up for Max now at the link below if you are unable to get it for no additional cost.

HBO Go is now gone

hbo go logo

If you signed up for HBO via your local cable or satellite TV provider, you were previously able to access the Go app with your cable or satellite login and access all of the movies in the cable network’s library, along with all of its TV shows, mini-series, documentaries, and specials.

Read: Best HBO Max TV shows

That situation is now over. WarnerMedia has made deals with a number of major and smaller cable TV providers that allow their customers to sign into the new service at no additional cost. Indeed, iOS and Android users of the older service have already seen those apps updated to the new service. Go is now completely gone.

HBO Now is gone as well

This service was for customers that didn’t have HBO via a cable TV or satellite hookup. It launched in 2015 and allows those people to access the cable channel’s content via smartphones, smart TVs, set-top boxes, and game consoles. It cost $14.99 a month. However, those apps have been replaced by the new service’s apps.

Enter HBO Max

hbo max screenshot

HBO Max is the latest service, basically replacing all the older ones. It not only has all of the content from the cable network but lots of other movies and TV shows as well. That includes classic TV sitcoms like Friends, The Big Bang Theory, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and TV dramas like Doctor Who and Pretty Little Liars. It also has classic and current Warner Bros. movies that are not currently on the cable channel, like Casablanca, The Wizard of Oz, 2001, and all of the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings movies. You can also stream shows from several of WarnerMedia’s other cable TV channels like TNT, TBS, TruTV, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, and CNN. Finally, there are selections of movies from Criterion, along with anime from Crunchyroll and Studio Ghibli.

Read: The best Studio Ghibli movies

As we mentioned, most cable TV companies are giving their HBO subscribers access to the new service at no additional cost.


Hopefully, that answers your questions about these three services. In the meantime, have you signed up for the service?