HBO Max finally revealed (AT&T video subscribers with HBO subscription gets it for free)

HBO Max will be included in your DirecTV-HBO subscription. If your smart TV is powered by Android TV (5.0 or higher) then it should allow you to download the HBO Max app from the Google Play Store on May 27th like Disney+. To login you just select "Login with TV provider" and select "DirecTV" and use your DirecTV credentials.

Nothing has been said about 4K resolution yet.

 

Well the problem here is Amazon most likely wants to disaggregate all the additional "Max" content into the Prime Video app as a "channel" similar to what they do with HBO content. AT&T however doesn't want Amazon to do that. In regards to analytics data when content is "disaggregated" like with Apple TV Channels or Prime Video Channels the operators (Apple / Amazon) gets that data first and can chose what gets passed on to the content owners. Amazon also takes as much as 15% - 50% of the subscription fees (WarnerMedia probably is on the lower end of the scale).

Netflix and Hulu have never been available through a "channel" type service for these very specific reasons. Amazon refuses to allow its own Prime Video content to be part other channel services. AT&T which owned Crunchyroll prior to the Time Warner acquisition never allowed Crunchyroll to be part of any "channel" service except for VRV which is owned through Crunchyroll. The only WarnerMedia streaming service not available through a "channel" service is DC Universe.

AT&T doesn't seem to have an issue if a customer prefers to have the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store bill them for their HBO Max subscriptions since the deals WarnerMedia reached for Apple and Google allows existing HBO Now subscribers who are currently third party billed by Apple or Google to continue on as normal with HBO Max included at no additional cost.

Apple's deal also allows for Apple to continue on with offering just HBO through Apple TV Channels however those subscribers will also have HBO Max included at no additional cost. If they want to watch something that is exclusive to HBO Max like Love Life or My Neighbor Totoro they will have to watch it within the HBO Max app.

An Apple TV Channel HBO subscriber on Reddit shared their email from Apple which breaks down how this works:

• When HBO Max launches on May 27th they will have access to the HBO Max app included at no extra cost
• They need to download the HBO Max app and login with their Apple ID
• They can keep watching HBO only content like HBO original series (i.e. Game of Thrones) and movies on HBO (i.e. Joker) through the Apple TV app.
• They can watch the "Max" content like Friends, Love Life, etc. in the HBO Max app.

Also as part of Apple's deal the HBO Max app will support integration with the Apple TV app similar to how Hulu and Disney+ work. So while in the Apple TV app you will be able to see the "Max" content however if you click to watch My Neighbor Totoro while in the Apple TV app it will boot you over to the HBO Max app to actually watch the movie.

So given what's already known about the Apple-HBO Max deal it seems AT&T/WarnerMedia is OK with continuing to allow "HBO only" content to be disaggregated through "channels" services but it is a no-go when it comes to the "Max only" content. If the subscriber wants to watch the "Max only" content they have to use the HBO Max app.

When it comes to the analytics/data side of it Stankey said during the Q&A session of the WarnerMedia day event "We're making data that we pull back from this available to other distributors through Xandr. That data is federated not only with their information and insights to customers, but it will be federated with other data and insights to customers on an anonymized basis that will allow them to gain insights as to how they use that for their own advertising they choose to participate in that."

 

Big deal on the distribution front however Amazon and Roku are still absent. Verizon FiOS, Cox and Altice USA are the big distributors from this announcement along with a handful of small distributors. AT&T confirms Xbox One and PlayStation 4 support along with Samsung TV 2016-2020 smart TV models support. See the latest news here.

 

So far they have made no mention if any provider including D* will have the HBO Max app on their set-top boxes. The Genies and Xfinity's X1 boxes (which are also the same boxes Cox uses for their Contour service) currently have not been announced as having an HBO Max app. They wouldn't put the HBO Max content on an on demand channel for DirecTV because that would mean they "disaggregate" the Max content from the HBO Max app which is what they don't want Amazon to do for Prime Video channels. They want people using the HBO Max app as much as possible just like Disney wants people watching Disney+ content through the Disney+ app as much as possible.

If you mean change Cinemax then that is something they are not doing at this time. They are already on record in saying Cinemax is staying put. The only change is they stopped development on the iOS/Android app development for Max Go. If you want Cinemax content on mobile, tablet and streaming devices the best option is using a "channels" service like Apple TV channels for Apple devices or Prime Video Channels for everything else.

 

I don't know what else to say. AT&T's own page about HBO Max clearly states this:

AT&T during the WarnerMedia day event back in October 2019 boasted they are the largest distributor of HBO in the United States. Out of the 30~some million HBO subscribers AT&T boasts they have 10 million of them across their various video & wireless offerings. They clearly said ALL 10 million of them will have HBO Max included at no additional cost. Highly unlikely all 10 million AT&T-HBO subscribers are exclusively in DirecTV Premier, DirecTV Lo Maximo, AT&T TV Now Max, U-Verse TV U450, AT&T Unlimited Elite, etc.

Before I started making my own tables summarizing all of the news about who is getting HBO Max included when it came to AT&T customers specifically I have been keeping in close contact with my friends who work for AT&T in company owned retail stores, AT&T owned call centers operated by AT&T prior to the DirecTV acquisition and friends who work in former DirecTV owned and operated call centers that AT&T took over and have kept after the DirecTV acquisition. All of them have given me reliable info in the past I have shared here before (with their consent) that have come to pass. So those tables are extensively researched through various reliable sources.

Ever since 2016 anything AT&T says represents DirecTV as they own DirecTV 100%. When AT&T says "AT&T customers" that includes anyone with a DirecTV satellite subscription.

In this press release from AT&T for example they clearly say "Customers who subscribe to HBO through AT&T will be offered immediate access to HBO Max included in their service for no additional charge. In addition, customers on select AT&T wireless, video and internet plans will have HBO Max included. "

That, right there, should clarify everything. If you have DirecTV Choice and subscribe to HBO ($17.99/mo) then you will have HBO Max included at no additional charge. In this instance you would select "Login with TV provider" and select "DirecTV".

In my case I have DirecTV Select & AT&T Unlimited Elite. I currently login to HBO Go by selecting AT&T Wireless as my provider and using my AT&T credentials and AT&T replicates my free HBO subscription onto my DirecTV service so I can watch the linear HBO channels on DirecTV and use HBO on Demand. When HBO Max launches I would select "AT&T" and use my AT&T credentials.

 

Lordt the Zack Snyder fans are passionate ever since the conformation of the Snyder cut of Justice League coming exclusively to HBO Max in 2021.

 

Most likely when the special free preview event ended on April 30th Amazon put all the HBO content back under the HBO channel through Prime Video Channels on May 1st similar to what happened on HBO Go/HBO Now standalone apps.

 

Just checked the HBO Max FAQ page Consolidated Communications and Liberty Cablevision of Puerto Rico were added as to the list of ISPs who's HBO Now customers will have HBO Max included with their HBO Now subscriptions at no additional cost.

 

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So one of the big questions have been was "is AT&T going to continue charging $17.99/mo on DirecTV for HBO when HBO Max standalone is $14.99/mo?" Well speculate no more people *stomps foot* they have actually done something well.... I don't think any of us has expected. They are decreasing the monthly cost of standalone HBO to match the price of HBO Max!

I just found this out today because my mom asked me to check to see if there was any free premium offers going on and I logged into her DirecTV account via att.com (she's in the AT&T billing system) and I saw this:

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I was shocked so I created a mock DirecTV order on AT&T's website and saw this in the shopping cart:

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I just checked with my friend who works at the call center and he confirmed that the price change started Sunday and is being rolled out throughout the various systems and should be in all systems by HBO Max's launch day 5/27. This is how he explained it to me:

• New and existing DirecTV customers through AT&T's billing system and existing U-Verse TV customers adding HBO to their accounts will see the new rate as of Sunday.
• Existing DirecTV customers in the legacy DirecTV billing system, AT&T TV customers and att.com will see the new $14.99/mo rate on 5/27.
• When the new rate takes effect in the respective billing system eligible customers who currently do not subscribe to HBO should be able to take advantage of the free trial offer online.
  • Customers who currently subscribe to HBO are not eligible for this offer.
  • Customers currently receiving a HBO at a discounted rate are not eligible for this offer (i.e. HBO for $9.99 for 12 months)
  • New customers already receiving HBO free for 3 or 12 months
  • Customers that recently had a free trial or discounted promotion of HBO that recently ended
  • Base packages that are $29.99 or lower (i.e. DirecTV Family or U-Verse TV's U-Basic) are not eligible for this offer.
• Customers who currently subscribe to HBO will see their price decrease from $17.99/mo to $14.99/mo on DirecTV or $16/mo to $14.99/mo on U-Verse on their first bill statement after HBO Max's launch.

Premier and Lo Maximo will remain the same price this is expected because if you take Ultimate and add all 5 premiums (HBO, Cinemax, Starz, Showtime & Sports Pack) together Premier is still cheaper.

After playing around with my mom's account here is the full list of changes impacted by HBO's price decrease for DirecTV.


This is big for DirecTV customers. The last time that DirecTV charged $14.99/mo for HBO was in 2010!