HBO Max explained: pricing, shows, devices and where you can watch it
Here's how to watch the HBO Max streaming service wherever you are
If the slow drip of The Last of Us season three news has felt like water torture, or you’re quietly seething that The White Lotus isn’t on any of the dozen streaming services you’re currently paying for, this is the article for you – and HBO Max is the platform you’re looking for.
Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), HBO Max launched in the US back in May 2020 and has become one of the biggest names in streaming. It’s the home of HBO’s acclaimed original programming, Warner Bros. films, DC content, and a back catalogue deep enough to lose entire weekends in. Think Succession, Euphoria, House of the Dragon, and The Sopranos all under one roof. At long last it has now launched in the UK.
Here’s everything you need to know about how to access the service, how much it’ll cost you and what you can watch on it, all in one place.
NB: One major caveat that’s worth considering: in late 2025, Netflix acquired Warner Bros. Discovery for a cool $82.7 billion. The deal hasn’t been finalised, however, and reports now suggest Netflix has backed out, likely due to Paramount attempting to hijack things. Paramount now seems set to acquire WBD, although nothing is official yet. So, while HBO Max will continue to operate independently for now, its long-term future is a little uncertain.
Watching HBO Max in the US
HBO Max now offers three core tiers for viewers based in the United States: Basic with Ads, Standard, and Premium. Basic with Ads will set you back $10.99 per month (or $109.99 per year), Standard costs $18.49 per month (or $184.99 annually) and the top-tier Premium plan costs $22.99 per month or $229.99 annually.
Basic with Ads has (yes, you guessed it) advertisements, up to Full HD resolution, two concurrent streams and no support for downloads (and therefore no offline viewing). Standard keeps the quality and two concurrent streams but removes the ads and allows up to 30 downloads for offline viewing. The Premium tier offers commercial-free viewing, the ability to stream on four devices simultaneously, support for 4K Ultra HD resolution and Dolby Atmos sound, and up to 100 downloads for offline viewing.
The above options are for a direct subscription, but there are other ways to access HBO Max. If you already get HBO through your TV provider – be it cable, an internet plan or a wireless package – you may be able to access to HBO Max at no extra cost. So do make sure to check your existing account before reaching for your wallet.
For those keen on a deal, there’s a pretty good package on offer. A mega-bundle offering Disney+, Hulu and HBO Max is available for $19.99 per month for the ad-supported version, or $32.99 per month ad-free, which represents a significant saving over subscribing to all three separately. Alternatively, US-based Verizon subscribers can take advantage of a $10 Netflix and HBO Max (with ads) bundle deal, and Cricket Wireless customers on a Supreme Unlimited plan can also bag an ad-supported HBO Max subscription at no extra cost.
Students aren’t forgotten either. Through UniDays, currently enrolled students aged 18 or over can access HBO Max with Ads for 50% off, provided they re-verify their status every 12 months.
Watching HBO Max in the UK
HBO Max is now available in the UK, with four monthly entertainment plans available from launch.
Basic with Ads (£4.99 a month) gets you two concurrent streams in Full HD, excluding new movies arriving straight from cinemas. Standard with Ads (£5.99 per month) adds these theatrical releases along with up to 30 offline downloads. Standard (£9.99 per month) keeps everything from the previous tier but removes the ads. And Premium, at £14.99 per month, steps up to four concurrent streams in 4K Ultra HD with Dolby Atmos, 100 downloads, and of course the full ad-free experience.
If you’re already a Sky subscriber, you can hold fire on an HBO Max subscription for now. Thanks to an expanded partnership between WBD and Sky, HBO content will continue to be available via Sky for free even after HBO Max’s UK launch. Existing Sky customers will need to create an HBO Max account to access the content, but they won’t need to pay separately for it.
New Sky customers can also sign up for the broadcaster’s Sky Ultimate TV bundle which, for £24 a month (or £41 with broadband) gives subscribers access not only to HBO Max but Netflix, Disney+ and Paramount+. The one HBO Max benefit not included in the bundle is TNT Sports content, which brings me nicely to the next section.
TNT Sports has moved from Discovery+ to HBO Max. For existing TNT Sports subscribers, the transition will be automatic – just download the HBO Max app and log in with your existing Discovery+ details. The TNT Sports plan (a hefty £30.99 per month) is also available as a standalone subscription or as an add-on to select HBO Max tiers, giving access to Champions League football, Premier League matches, the FA Cup, Gallagher Prem Rugby, MotoGP, UFC and more.
At launch, the complete first season of Emmy and Golden Globe-winning Max Original The Pitt will be available, along with an extensive back catalogue stretching from Succession and Friends to The Sopranos and Game of Thrones. From 26 March, HBO Max will also be the only place in the UK to catch all existing seasons of Euphoria ahead of the arrival of its third season in April.
Where else can I watch HBO Max?
HBO Max is already available in more than 100 countries worldwide. Its global rollout has been a gradual one, shaped more by existing licensing deals than by any lack of ambition.
Across Europe, coverage is now nearly complete. On 13 January 2026, HBO Max launched as a direct service in Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Israel and Greece, with HBO Max also available as an Amazon Prime Video add-on in Germany, Italy and Austria. France, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and the Nordic countries had come on board in earlier waves.
HBO Max launched across 39 territories in Latin America and the Caribbean in June 2021. The platform covers most of South and Central America, including Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Chile.
In the Asia-Pacific region, HBO Max launched as a standalone service in Australia on 31 March 2025. Southeast Asian launches followed, with Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Taiwan going live on 19 November 2024, before further expansion across remaining Southeast Asian countries in October 2025. A standalone service is also planned for New Zealand from mid-2026.
Not every market is a direct-subscription story, though. In several countries, HBO Max content is distributed through local partners rather than a standalone app. In India, HBO Max programming is currently available through JioHotstar; in Japan, it’s carried by U-Next; in South Korea, Coupang Play holds exclusive rights; and across much of the Middle East and North Africa, content is distributed through OSN’s streaming service OSN+.
Canada is a notable absence from the HBO Max map entirely, but most of its original programming there is carried by Bell Media’s streaming service Crave.
What can I watch on HBO Max?
The content lineup is substantial, and includes some of what are, in this writer’s humble opinion, the best TV shows ever made. You can stream current and classic HBO originals like The Sopranos, Succession, The Pitt, The White Lotus, Game of Thrones, The Last of Us and Hacks, plus library TV favourites like Friends, Abbott Elementary and Rick and Morty. And then there are the movies, which include Superman, A Minecraft Movie, One Battle After Another and Sinners.
Looking further ahead, the platform will also become the exclusive home of the hotly anticipated (and somewhat controversial) Harry Potter TV series.
Sam Kieldsen
Contributor 
