Development
On October 15, 2014, following a trial of a similar service in Nordic Europe, HBO announced plans to launch an online, subscription video on demand service in the United States in 2015. This new service would be geared towards cord cutters – consumers who primarily use online video services to view television programs rather than subscribe to cable or satellite television – and would not have to be purchased as part of a television subscription, therefore also making it a competitor to services such as Netflix. This contrasts with HBO's existing online video on demand service, HBO Go, which is only accessible to those who have subscribed to HBO through a television provider.[5][6]
On December 9, 2014, it was reported that HBO had outsourced development of the service's infrastructure to Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM), who also developed the infrastructures used by WatchESPN and WWE Network. The network was previously working on a new platform codenamed "Maui"; however HBO, especially after major outages of HBO Go that occurred during several recent season premieres of high-profile HBO series, felt that outsourcing the service to a third-party would bring lower risk to the project. Otto Berkes stepped down as the company's Chief Technical Officer following this move.[7]
The service was unveiled as HBO Now during an Apple press event on March 9, 2015.[8] It was also announced that Apple would be the service's exclusive launch partner, with the HBO Now app being exclusive to Apple TV and iOS devices for a three-month period following the service's launch.[9][2] HBO Now was also accessible via a website.[10] HBO Now went live on April 7, 2015, to coincide with the April 12 premiere of the fifth season of Game of Thrones.[10][1] Apple retained 15% of the monthly subscription fee from users who sign up from an iOS device.[11]
Following the end of the exclusivity period, HBO Now for Android and Amazon Kindle Fire was released on July 16, 2015.[12] HBO Now apps for Xbox 360 and Xbox One were released on April 21, 2016.[13] On September 15, Sony announced that HBO Now will be available on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, which was later released on September 29, 2016 in anticipation for the series premiere of Westworld on October 2, and that anyone that subscribed to HBO on PlayStation Vue would be able to access HBO Now at no extra cost.[14][15]
On May 27, 2020, WarnerMedia launched HBO Max, a successor to HBO Now that additionally incorporates a broad array of content from other WarnerMedia properties and third-party content providers.[16] HBO Now subscribers that are billed directly by HBO were migrated to HBO Max on-launch at no additional cost. HBO Now will not be immediately discontinued, with WarnerMedia noting that some streaming devices may not be immediately supported on the revamped service, and renegotiations would be required with third-party resellers such as Apple, Roku and Hulu.[17]
Apple and Hulu would reach agreements to migrate their HBO Now customers to HBO Max.[18][19] On June 12, 2020, HBO announced that the HBO Now app on remaining platforms not yet supported by HBO Max (including Amazon Fire OS, Roku OS and select legacy TiVo devices) would be rebranded as "HBO” on August 1.[20] Support for TiVo devices was discontinued on August 31 from the same year, albeit without a replacement as the DVR manufacturer had not reached a deal to supersede it with HBO Max.[21] The HBO app was relegated thereafter to a default HBO streaming platform for remaining major streaming marketplaces Amazon and Roku, which delayed replacement for several months due to disagreements over contractual distribution terms. Amazon Fire OS and Fire TV devices replaced it with HBO Max on November 16, 2020.[22] Roku OS continued to offer the HBO app thereafter; however, on December 16, Roku reached an agreement with WarnerMedia to offer HBO Max on its TV sets and set-top devices effective the following day. As a result, the HBO Now/HBO streaming app was discontinued on December 17, with subscribers of the app through Roku being converted to HBO Max and Roku remotes manufactured between 2015 and 2020 with a HBO Now shortcut button now automatically redirecting users to the HBO Max app.[4]
