HBO GO
HBOGO.svg
Type of site
Video on demand
DissolvedJuly 31, 2020; 2 years ago (2020-07-31) (North America)
June 29, 2021; 18 months ago (2021-06-29) (Latin America and the Caribbean)
October 26, 2021; 14 months ago (2021-10-26) (Nordic Europe and Spain)
March 8, 2022; 10 months ago (2022-03-08) (Central and Eastern Europe and Portugal)
Predecessor(s)HBO on Broadband
Successor(s)HBO Max
HeadquartersNew York, New York,
United States
ParentHome Box Office, Inc.
(Warner Bros. Discovery)
RegistrationSubscription to HBO through participating pay television provider required to access content
LaunchedFebruary 18, 2010; 12 years ago (2010-02-18)
Current statusDeprecated and sunsetted (Americas and Europe)
Active (Asia)

HBO Go is a partly-inactive authenticated video on demand of the pay television service HBO. The service allowed subscribers to HBO via television providers to access its programming on-demand via the HBO website, mobile apps, and digital media players among other devices.

The service began to be phased out in the United States in 2020 following the launch of HBO Max, a new subscription streaming service featuring content from both HBO and parent company WarnerMedia. HBO Max would be made available at no additional charge to HBO subscribers on participating providers, but would also be available on a direct-to-consumer basis.

The "HBO Go" brand is also used in international markets for TV Everywhere and over-the-top services offering HBO programming. For example, HBO Canada previously operated an HBO Go service,[1] but this was discontinued in 2018 when its parent service The Movie Network rebranded as Crave and merged with a previously-separate streaming service that held rights to HBO library programming.[2][3]

Overview

HBO Go was the successor to HBO on Broadband, which was originally launched in January 2008 to Time Warner Cable customers in the Green Bay and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, areas. Programming content available on the service consisted of 400 hours of feature and HBO original television films (including 130 movie titles that rotated monthly), specials and original series that could be downloaded to computers, at no extra charge for HBO subscribers; in order to access HBO on Broadband content, users had to be a digital cable customer that had a subscription to HBO, and used Time Warner Cable's Roadrunner cable modem service.[4][5]

The service launched nationally as HBO Go on February 18, 2010, initially available through Verizon FiOS.[6] Over the following years, the service expanded to other providers including AT&T U-verse,[7] Comcast, Cox Communications, Time Warner Cable,[8] DirecTV,[9] Dish Network,[10] Suddenlink Communications,[11] and Charter Communications in some states,[12][13] as well as through vMVPD services AT&T TV Now, AT&T TV and Hulu. The service can be accessed through a web browser or through apps for select smart TV sets, Amazon Fire, iOS, Android, Chromecast, Roku, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

At launch, the service was accessible only on personal computers via the HBO website. Applications for iOS and Android devices were released on April 29, 2011, making the service available on smartphones and tablet computers.[14] The app had over one million downloads in its first week, and was downloaded over three million times by the end of June 2011.[15][16]

In October 2011, Roku streaming players became the first television-connected devices to support the service, and availability was later rolled out to the Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation consoles, Samsung Smart TVs, and Xbox consoles. Availability on set-top boxes and gaming consoles is determined by individual cable providers in the United States with some omissions. Currently Comcast does not support the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Fire TV and did not support Roku players until late 2014.[17][18] Sling TV subscribers who receive HBO through that service are unable to access HBO Go, since HBO's live feed and on-demand content is available through the Sling TV apps.[19] The same also applies to PlayStation Vue subscribers except they also have access to HBO Now.[20]

In January 2019, HBO Go was dropped from PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Samsung Smart TVs released before 2013.[21]

Content

HBO Go streamed a selection of theatrically released films (via film studios that maintain distribution deals with HBO including 20th Century Fox, Universal Pictures and network sister company Warner Bros. Pictures) with a significant number of titles added and removed from the service every month. HBO original series are available on a permanent basis. New episodes of current series are typically available for streaming beginning at the time of their initial broadcast in the Eastern Time Zone on the linear HBO channel.[22]

However, HBO Go did not carry several past HBO series, such as Tales from the Crypt, Tenacious D, 1st & Ten, Da Ali G Show, or The Ricky Gervais Show.[23] The Larry Sanders Show and Arliss were initially unavailable but added in 2016 and 2018 respectively.[24][25] Moreover, unlike TV Everywhere services offered by most other broadcast and cable-satellite television networks, HBO Go does not provide access to near-real-time streams of HBO's linear channels.

Discontinuation

In the U.S., HBO Go was deprecated following the launch of WarnerMedia's HBO Max service in May 2020; the company had reached agreements with individual providers to give HBO subscribers access to HBO Max at no additional charge.[26][27] HBO Max was not supported for several months on certain devices supported by HBO Go, including Amazon Fire and Fire TV (arrived on that platform on November 17, 2020).[27] and Roku (December 17, 2020).[citation needed]

On June 12, 2020, it was announced that because "the large majority of HBO Go usage occurs on platforms with whom we have HBO Max deals currently in place", HBO Go would be discontinued on July 31, 2020.[28] HBO Now, a separate, direct-to-consumer version of the HBO service,[29] was also folded into HBO Max on-launch for most subscribers.[26][27]

HBO Go will continue operating in eight markets in Asia as an interim service before the streaming service which encompass all WBD properties (which would be a proposed merger between HBO Max and Discovery+) launching in mid-2024.[30][31][32]

Platforms

References

  1. ^ "The Movie Network Launches Three Video Streaming Services". Broadcaster Magazine. February 28, 2013. Archived from the original on November 4, 2013. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  2. ^ "All-New Crave Features HBO Collection". TVCanada. November 1, 2018. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  3. ^ "HBO Goes Direct to Consumer in Canada to Challenge Netflix". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  4. ^ Gary Levin (January 21, 2008). "It's not TV, it's HBO – on your computer". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved October 5, 2012.
  5. ^ Peter Lauria (January 21, 2008). "HBO on Broadband in Restricted Rollout". New York Post. News Corporation. Retrieved October 5, 2012.
  6. ^ Georg Szalai (February 17, 2010). "HBO GO heads to FiOS". The Hollywood Reporter. Guggenheim Digital Media. Retrieved October 5, 2012.
  7. ^ Lawler, Richard (November 29, 2010). "HBO GO, MAX GO now available on AT&T's U-verse". Engadget. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  8. ^ R. Thomas Umstead (March 2, 2011). "Cox To Offer HBO To Go". Multichannel News. NewBay Media.
  9. ^ "DIRECTV to Launch HBO GO and MAX GO, April 12". DirecTV (Press release). April 11, 2011.
  10. ^ "Dish Network Offers HBO GO and MAX GO, Presenting More Than 1,800 On-Demand Movies and Original Series to Online Customers". Dish Network (Press release). April 21, 2011. Archived from the original on May 11, 2011. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  11. ^ Todd Spangler (April 26, 2011). "Suddenlink Takes HBO And Cinemax To Go". Multichannel News. NewBay Media.
  12. ^ Todd Spangler (July 21, 2011). "Charter Officially Delivers HBO, Cinemax To Go". Multichannel News. NewBay Media.
  13. ^ "HBO GO / MAX GO". Charter Communications. Archived from the original on February 5, 2015. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  14. ^ a b c Ryan Lawler (April 29, 2011). "HBO Go Now Available on iPad, iPhone and Android". Gigaom. GigaOmniMedia, Inc.
  15. ^ Todd Spangler (May 10, 2011). "HBOGo Apps Top 1 Million Downloads In First Week". Multichannel News. NewBay Media. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  16. ^ Kevin Sullivan (June 27, 2011). "HBO GO passes 3 million downloads. Is it worth it?". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  17. ^ "HBO Go: Activate". Home Box Office Inc.
  18. ^ Anu Passary (December 18, 2014). "Comcast Allows HBO Go and Showtime Streaming on Roku". Tech Times.
  19. ^ https://help.hbogo.com/hc/en-us/articles/205404147-Can-I-subscribe-to-HBO-GO-by-using-Sling-as-my-TV-provider-[permanent dead link]
  20. ^ Dwayne Benefield. PS Vue: HBO, Cinemax, New Ultra Plan Arrive Today, playstation.com, September 29, 2016.
  21. ^ Device support changes: PlayStation 3, Samsung TV, and Xbox 360
  22. ^ Jonathan Vankin (April 6, 2014). "'Game Of Thrones' Premiere Live Stream Online, But Will HBO Go Crash Again?". Inquisitr.
  23. ^ Erik Adams, Sam Adams; Phil Dyess-Nugent, Will Harris and Kyle Ryan (May 15, 2013). "It's not TV—and it's not available on HBO Go: 27-plus HBO originals unavailable from the streaming service". The A.V. Club.
  24. ^ It's Official: 'The Larry Sanders Show' Coming to HBO Go and HBO Now in September. The Hollywood Reporter. 30 July 2016.
  25. ^ HBO Original Series Arli$$: The Art of the Sports Superagen Available to Stream on HBO NOW and HBO GO Starting September 14, 2018. The Futon Critic. 23 August 2018.
  26. ^ a b Hayes, Dade (May 20, 2020). "WarnerMedia Locks HBO Max Distribution Deals With Seven New Partners, From Pay-TV To PlayStation, Xbox And Samsung". Deadline. Archived from the original on May 20, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  27. ^ a b c Flint, Joe; Rizzo, Lillian (May 27, 2020). "HBO Max Leaves AT&T at Odds With Amazon and Roku". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  28. ^ Solsman, Joan E. (June 12, 2020). "HBO is getting rid of HBO GO, renaming HBO Now since HBO Max is live". CNET. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  29. ^ Chris Welch (March 9, 2015). "HBO Now coming in April for $14.99 per month, Apple TV price cut to $69". The Verge. Vox Media.
  30. ^ Frater, Patrick (January 28, 2022). "WarnerMedia Readies Ground in Asia for HBO Max, Expanded Local Production". Variety. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  31. ^ Spangler, Todd (August 4, 2022). "HBO Max, Discovery+ to Merge Into Single Streaming Platform Starting in Summer 2023". Variety. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  32. ^ Warner Bros Discovery closes in on ‘Max’ as the name of its combined HBO Max-Discovery+ streaming service
  33. ^ Adriana Lee (December 16, 2014). "HBO Go Hits Amazon Fire TV, May Bring Cord-Cutting Service Too". ReadWrite.
  34. ^ "HBO Go gets an Android TV app, but not for Comcast subscribers".
  35. ^ Roberto Baldwin (June 19, 2013). "HBO GO Finally Arrives on Apple TV". Wired. Condé Nast.
  36. ^ Jim O'Neill (November 22, 2013). "HBO Go Launches on Chromecast as Mobile Video Mainstreams". Ooyala.
  37. ^ "HBO Latin America Press Room". www.hbolapress.com. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  38. ^ "Mola TV Gandeng HBO GO, Tawarkan Layanan Premium". Detikcom. September 5, 2020.
  39. ^ "HBO Go Available on PS4 Later Today". Playstation. Sony Interactive. March 3, 2015.
  40. ^ "Introducing Roku LT and a Sneak Peek at HBO GO". Roku. October 11, 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2012.
  41. ^ "Roku Channel Store". Roku. Archived from the original on September 18, 2012. Retrieved October 5, 2012.
  42. ^ Andrew Webster (February 17, 2012). "HBO Go now available on select Samsung Smart TVs". The Verge. Vox Media.
  43. ^ "TiVo adds HBO GO and Toon Goggles – the perfect DVR for all ages! - TiVo Blog". Archived from the original on April 8, 2017. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
  44. ^ Eddie Makuch (June 4, 2014). "HBO Go, Twitter, Vine Coming to Xbox One By End of 2014". GameSpot. CBS Interactive.

External links

Home Box Office, Inc.
Warner Bros. Discovery Networks
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