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If you just finished The White Lotus and are now tuning into the highly-anticipated second season of The Last of Us, you’re likely wondering how to watch HBO online to catch all of your favorite shows, movies, and more. Lucky for you, we’ve got the full breakdown on how to watch HBO live for free.
How to Watch HBO at a Glance:
Founded in 1972, Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service that operates under its parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., which is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. HBO is the oldest subscription television service in the United States that’s still operating today. It’s also the first cable-originated television content service in the country, and in 1972, it became the first television service to be directly transmitted and distributed to individual cable television systems. It eventually became the first television channel in the world to begin trasmitting via stellite. These are just a few of the milestones that makes HBO a pioneer in its industry. HBO programming mostly includes motion pictures, original television programs, made-for-cable movies, documentaries, occasional comedy and concert specials, and periodic interstitial programs.
HBO also created Max (previously HBO Max), a streaming platform that features original programming made exclusively for the service and content from other Warner Bros. Discovery properties. Some Max shows and series that have gained cult followings include Succession, The White Lotus, and The Last of Us.
If you’ve come to this story to figure out how to watch HBO to catch Season 2 of The Last of Us, we’ve got the 4-1-1, below. So keep scrolling for all of your streaming options and comprehensive instructions for each one to watch everything HBO (and Max) has to offer. We’ve also got exclusive promo codes for a couple of the options, which is even more reason to continue reading, below.
How to watch HBO live for free
HBO is available to stream on services like DirecTV Stream, Sling TV, Disney Plus, Hulu, Max Bundle, and Amazon Prime Video. DirecTV Stream offers a five-day free trial, and starts at $74.99 per month after the trial ends. HBO is available under the Premier plan only, which starts at $154.99 per month. While Sling doesn’t offer a free trial, you can buy the Sling Blue + Max or Sling Orange & Blue + Max to access HBO. Both plans are half-off for your first month, which means Sling Blue + Max costs $28.98 for your first month and Sling Orange & Blue + Maxi costs $36.49 for your first month. If you want more than just Max, get the Disney Plus, Hulu, Max Bundle. You can pick the Disney Plus, Max, Hulu Bundle (With Ads) for $16.99 per month or the Disney Plus, Max, Hulu Bundle (Without Ads) for $29.99 per month. For those who want to skip ads, the best option is Amazon Prime Video because one of the plans that has Max, Max Standard, is ad-free. Choose between Max Basic With Ads for $9.99 per month and Max Standard for $16.99 per month.
Best Overall Pick to Watch HBO: DirecTV Stream
Direct TV is our best overall pick for watching HBO for free because of its free trial, price, and channel selection. DirecTV Stream offers a five-day free trial. DirecTV offers four plans: Entertainment, which costs $74.99 per month; Choice, which costs $79.99 per month (usually $89.99 per month); Ultimate, which costs $109.99 per month (usually $119.99 per month); and Premier, which costs $154.99 (usually $164.99 per month). However, only the Premier plan offers HBO.
As for other differences between the plans, Entertainment includes more than 90 channels, the ability to stream on unlimited devices in your home, unlimited cloud DVR storage, and a special offer on premium channels. Choice, which is the most popular plan, includes more than 125 channels, regional sports networks, and everything included in Entertainment. Ultimate includes more than 160 channels and everything included in Entertainment and Choice. Premier includes more than 185 channels including premium channels like HBO and Starz and everything included in Entertainment, Choice, and Ultimate. Read on for step-by-step instructions on how to watch HBO with DirecTV Stream’s free trial.
- Visit streamtv.directv.com‘s packages page
- Click “Try It Free” for the plan of your choice
- Enter your information and payment method
- Search for HBO and start watching
Best Budget Pick to Watch HBO: Sling TV
Sling is our best budget pick to watch HBO based on its price and current deals. Sling offers two plans with HBO. First, Sling Blue + Max, which costs $57.97 per month but is currently half off of your first month, bringing the price down to $28.98 for your first month. Next up and likely the best option is Sling Orange & Blue + Max. It costs $72.98 per month but is only $36.49 for your first month thanks to the half-off promo. In addition to 50% off your first month of Sling + max, you get $5 off monthly when you subscribe to Sling + Max. Both plans give you access to the Max app to stream HBO.
As for the difference between the plans, Sling Blue + Max includes over 40 channels, 50 hours of DVR storage, and exclusive news and entertainment channels. Meanwhile, Sling Orange & Blue + Max includes iover 50 channels, 50 hours of DVR storage, and exclusive sports, news, and entertainment channels. Read on for step-by-step instructions on how to watch HBO with Sling.
- Visit Sling.com
- Click “Try Us Today”
- Create an account
- Choose your plan
- Enter your information and payment method
- Search for HBO and start watching
Best Bundle Pick to Watch HBO: Disney Plus, Max, Hulu Bundle
The Disney Plus, Max, Hulu Bundle is our best bundle pick to watch HBO because you get three streaming platforms in one package. There are two plans you can choose from: the Disney Plus, Max, Hulu Bundle (With Ads) for $16.99 per month (43% monthly savings) or the Disney Plus, Max, Hulu Bundle (Without Ads) for $29.99 per month (42% monthly savings). Both bundles give you access to select Hulu content in the Disney Plus app and select HBO content in the Hulu app. The only differences between the two packages is that the plan without ads allows for downloads and also gives you ad-free streaming, though ads will be served in select live and linear content. Ahead, find step-by-step instructions on how to watch HBO with the Disney Plus, Max, Hulu Bundle.
- Visit the Disney Plus. Max, Hulu Bundle page on disneyplus.com
- Click “Select” under the “With Ads” or “Without Ad” buttons
- Create an account
- Choose your plan
- Enter your information and payment method
- Seach for Max and start watching
Best Ad-Free Pick to Watch HBO: Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video is our best ad-free pick to watch HBO because the ad-free plan with HBO costs $16.99 per month, compared to the Disney Plus, Max, Hulu Bundle (Without Ads), which costs $29.99 per month. That’s a $13 price difference, even though you get access to more streaming platforms with the latter, more expensive option. If you’re watching on a budget and want to avoid ads, Amazon Prime Video is your best choice, but only if you have a Prime membership. It offers two plans with HBO: Max Basic With Ads for $9.99 per month and Max Standard for $16.99 per month. What’s the difference between the plans? Max Basic offers you full HD resolution, while Max Standard offers full HD resolution, downloads, no ads except for live TV and sports, and live sports and CNN Max.
- Make sure you’re signed into your Amazon Prime account
- Visit the Max page on amazon.com
- Click “More Details”
- Choose your plan
- Enter your information and payment method
- Search for Max and start watching
