Andrew Heinzman
YouTube TV is known for its affordable pricing, simple interface, and unlimited DVR capabilities. And now, the service is adding a new feather to its hat. As announced by WarnerMedia, HBO, HBO Max, and Cinemax are all coming to YouTube TV as premium add-ons this spring.
Like with cable or Hulu + Live TV, HBO and Cinemax will exist on YouTube TV as live and on-demand services. This means that, once you’ve paid for the add-on packages, you’ll be able to watch HBO or Cinemax channels live, or dig through their on-demand catalogs to rewatch classic movies and shows.
But what about HBO Max? Try to ignore the confusing name—HBO Max is independent from HBO, HBO Go, and HBO Now. It’s a dedicated streaming service that will offer all of WarnerMedia’s properties, from HBO, to TBS, to TNT, to Warner Bros, to Cartoon Network, and the full Studio Ghibli catalog (as part of a distribution deal).
If it helps, think of HBO Max as WarnerMedia’s answer to Disney+. Subscribing to HBO Max through YouTube TV will enable you to stream the service through the YouTube TV app, similar to the way that services like Netflix work through the Apple TV app.
HBO, HBO Max, and Cinemark will join the YouTube TV add-on lineup sometime this spring (IE: before July of 2020). We still don’t know how much the add-ons will cost, but Hulu + Live TV currently charges $15 a month for its HBO add-on and $10 a month for its Cinemax add-on. The HBO Max streaming service is set to cost $15 a month when it launches in May—if that’s any indication for how much it’ll run as a YouTube TV add-on.
Source: 9to5Google
