HBO Now

Name: HBO Now
Rating: 2.1

Is This Your Business?

2.1

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217 User Reviews

3.0

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2.1

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217 User Reviews

3.0

Overall Score

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The Good

The Bad

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Minimum Contract Length

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Number of Reviews 217

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Author: Kaitlyn Short

LAST UPDATED: December 27th, 2023

HBO Now is a stand-alone TV streaming service for people who do not currently pay for cable TV. This is different from HBO Go which is included with a cable TV subscription. Subscribers to HBO Now have unlimited access to all of HBO's content at any time from anywhere. It provides higher quality movies and TV without a cable TV contract.

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The Good

High Quality Movies and TV Series
Parental Controls
Variety of Devices Available
HBO Original Series

High Quality Movies and TV Series

HBO has done a great job of making their past and present content available online. HBO Now currently has over 650 high-quality movies and almost 100 TV series. In addition to an on-demand library of content, HBO Now gives you access to stream live episodes and watch big premieres as they air on TV. Some of HBO's most popular content includes: Big Little Lies, Game of Thrones, and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

Parental Controls

Parents have the ability to filter new releases, but there are some bugs editing out some of the older television shows and movies.

Variety of Devices Available

HBO Now is available on the following devices:

iPad
iPhone (iOS app)
Apple TV
Android phones and tablets
Android TV
Amazon Fire tablets
Amazon Fire TV Stick
Web Browser (HBONow.com)
Google Chromecast
Roku
Play Station Four
Xbox One

HBO Original Series

In addition to licensed content, HBO Now also has several highly ranked original series. HBO Now has over 125 original series for subscribers to enjoy. These series are exclusive to HBO and will not be available through any other streaming tv service. Overall, HBO Now is a great alternative for someone interested in HBO content but doesn't want to subscribe to cable. It can be streamed on a wide variety of devices and is reasonably priced for high-quality content. Subscribers have unlimited access to all of HBO anywhere (not including all live TV) without a TV provider contract.

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The Bad

Price
Library Selection and Variety
Streaming Issues

Price

HBO Now costs $14.99 per month. This is a little more expensive than other streaming services, but HBO Now offers high quality of movies and TV series.

Library Selection and Variety

With HBO Now, subscribers are only going to get access to HBO-driven content. HBO Now doesn't offer the same high volume as other streaming services like Netflix or Hulu. However, they do offer over 650 movies and almost 100 TV series to choose from.

Streaming Issues

HBO Now is known to have streaming issues at peak times. In some cases, users may have to restart the app, their device, or even uninstall and reinstall the app altogether.

Customer Reviews

HBO Now reviews from customers often report that they had a difficult time canceling their service. Some even say that they got charged for their free trial and that HBO's customer service wasn't helpful in resolving the issue. Other reviewers complain that HBO Now often stops to buffer when you are watching a show.

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The Bottom Line

If you don't have a current HBO subscription, and you want access to a great deal of HBO content, HBO Now is a great option to satisfy that need. HBO Now is a great way to extend your current cable subscription if you want to drop HBO from your current cable provider. Also, HBO Now can be streamed on a large variety of devices, but the services are not the most competitive if you are looking for a large library of movie options. Though HBO does feature some content that it seems like everyone's talking about, the poor customer reviews speak for themselves. For more information, read some HBO Now customer reviews below. We recommend reviewing the top rated companies before making a final decision.

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User Reviews

Star Rating

2.1

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217 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

16%

4 grade

11%

3 grade

2 grade

1 grade

65%

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Not A Fan Fonda, NY

HBO has some good stuff, though not enough to keep me interested year-round. I had used the streaming service for a few months about a year ago, and recently decided it was time to use it again for another couple of months. However, once I re-signed up (within minutes of re-signing up), I found that none of the videos would work in my browser. This was frustrating, but I went ahead and called the company right away to see if they could fix it. What I got from the representative that answered my call was not specialized help that really pinpointed my issue, but a long list of obvious and generic potential-problems ("update your browser.... clear the cookies from your browser..."). Upon realizing that the customer support was not going to provide me with any support, and that I would not be able to watch anything without doing research online to see who else was having a problem, I asked to just be refunded. The customer "support" person told me that there was a policy of not giving refunds (!!). I had to insist, and get clearly agitated, for her to transfer me to someone above her. He was unpleasant and chastising. After some arguing, he finally said he was giving me a refund but then expected me to sit on the phone listening to him troubleshoot my problem --as if I would ever need to troubleshoot for something I am never going to use again. He said my refund would not show up until 7-10 business days. I have not received an email yet confirming the refund. (If I do not wind up getting refunded, I am coming back to post another review).

5 years ago

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Kaytmay Gainesville, VA

Just to try HBONOW my daughter bought her dad and I two 50.00 gift cards for hbonow streaming. We signed up with the first gift card created the act. First gift card no problem...thinking wow this is a piece of cake. Read all I could find out to see if I could go ahead and also put in gift card#2 The site said yes multiple cards are fine will adjust expiration as cards entered. That's where it starts going down hill. The second card gave service error. I call HBO they said you really must use desktop computer for this. I used my android phone with zero issue the first time. I go and sign in with desk top getting the exact error. I have texted HBONOW for the last two weeks and the problem has yet to get resolved. TWO WEEKS!!! I got a case # but unless I initiate an inquiry I hear nothing. When they do respond. It is the same response. They are sorry about the issue and are aware of it. Not worth the hassle of a subscription so IF they fix the issue they have still lost a potential customer smh.

6 years ago

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Anabella Aurora, CO

They have a no refund policy when canceling service. I cancel my service a day after payment was processed and they refused to refund saying they have a strict no refund policy, yet their terms and conditions are not clear and sate they don’t give refunds if cancel mid month, so i questioned them saying I cancel my service at the beginning of the month therefor I should be able to get my refund, but they never responded to my inquiries.

5 years ago

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Rachel Tinnin Denver, CO

I paid for hbo now and thought I wouldn't get ads, since I'm paying $15 a month. Ads before every show. So they are banking off "us" consumers and having people pay for ads. I was bummed with Netflix cuz they didn't update new viewing fast enough... Netflix stepped their game and still cheap and new stuff. When I was younger the shows on HBO were the thing to see. My mind has changed.

7 years ago

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Kirby Bakken Kasson, MN

Yes, $15/month is a little spendy. But for a show, or shows like Game of Thrones, does 50 cents per night to watch really seem that bad? That's my positive point. The negative, is that Roku HBO Go app is pretty decent. Shows you 'snapshots' of future and past video so you have some clue to where you are fast forwarding to. Seriously HBO, who wants to watch 1 minute of the same intro before every show? So, we fast-forward over it. With GO, that's easy. But with 'Now', you have to guess how long to fast forward for, no clue to where you're going to. HBO, PLEASE FIX THIS.

8 years ago

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Jalen Kekacs Midvale, UT

Awful streaming... lots of shows to try and watch, if the garbage buffering doesn't drive you to insanity first. I've never been more upset than trying to watch anything through HBO Now.

4 years ago

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G Grand Forks, ND

I have HBO cable and it’s turned into a PBS channel. Sesame Street, documentaries, people profiles, stand up comedy (I have Comedy Central). Time to dump this.

5 years ago

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alyssa Pleasant Grove, UT

HBO Now delivers an impressive catalog of shows and movies, but it costs more than many competitors and does not let subscribers view content offline.

6 years ago

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Cody Enslow Pleasant Grove, UT

They don’t have almost anything I want to watch except a few hits that I have found other ways.

6 years ago