HBO Max Australia Release Date

There is a new phase washing over all the major streaming services. Now, the large networks and movie studios are joining the battle.

The way we watch view video content will change with TV shows and movies from these large broadcasters all being online.

Warner Bros being one of the last to join the party with the HBO Max streaming service confuses things a little, as well as makes the future a bit clearer.

Warner already had two streaming platforms in place, so why the addition of a third?

Watch HBO Max in Australia with ExpressVPN

 

Here, you can learn all you need to know about the new direct-to-consumer standalone streaming service, and how it affects fans of shows like GOT in Australia.

What is HBO Max?

The HBO Max release date was May 27, 2020. It has a vast catalogue of hit movies and shows, along with big-budget exclusive originals such as Game of Thrones or the Justice League Snyder cut appearing in 2021 along with a Green Lantern reboot.

You can find over 10,000 hours of premium content, which includes all the content from HBO Go and HBO Now offerings as well as some HBO Max Original series that are purely for this platform.

The question comes as to why there is a third-platform offering original programming, and where is it available?

What is the Difference Between HBO Max, Go and HBO Now?

At the time of writing, you will see three streaming platforms, although, on July 31, one of these will cease to exist, and one goes under some re-branding.

Here you can see the state of play with HBO streaming.

HBO Go

Currently, any American who signs up for a cable subscription has access to HBO Go. On July 31, 2020, this no longer exists, and all new subscribers go to the next option.

HBO Now

HBO Now was a standalone service you could sign up to if you didn’t have a cable connection. Cord cutters and overseas subscribers would head toward this option.

However, on July 31, HBO Now will lose its moniker and will take the name of HBO. From this date, any subscriber wishing sign up without a cable subscription will find they get HBO Max, and subscribers who also have TV subscriptions will have the shorter named HBO platform.

HBO Max

HBO Max content will have all that HBO has plus the Max originals. To new users, they get a free upgrade for the same $14.99 per month, and the 7-day free trial.

Anyone still using HBO Now will begin to see a change as users start to get the HBO Max app. You can have three simultaneous streams at one on a wide range of devices.

According to the HBO Max site, these are devices, which have support.

• Android phones and tablets & Android TV
• Apple TV 4th gen & above
• Chromebooks & Chromecast
• iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch iOS 12.2 upward
• PC and Mac desktops
• PlayStation 4 and Xbox One game consoles
• Samsung TV 2016 upward

There are two omissions from this list, and those being Roku and Amazon Fire devices through Amazon Prime Video.

There are no agreements in place for Max to come to these devices. Suppose you subscribe or have these devices and wish to subscribe. You may find you have the restricted content of the HBO app and not the expanded catalogue.

With things a bit clearer, potential subscribers want to know when the HBO Max launch date is around the globe.

In 2021, Latin America will begin the first international expansion; from there, they will move to Europe.

After that, there is no talk of how you can get HBO shows locally, particularly in Australia.

What is on HBO Max?

You will find great shows from the TV and fantastic movies to watch.

You will find lots of content from The CW, Looney Tunes Cartoons, Adult Swim, and The Cartoon Network, among other studios such as studio Ghilibi.

You will find some classics like these:

• Lord of the Rings
• Big Bang Theory
• Rick and Morty
• South Park

New Shows

• Adventure-Time – There are four episodes for Adventure Time Distant Lands, and the series is ongoing
• The Not Too Late Show with Elmo – Based on The Late Show (Sesame Street Spin-Off), The Late Show with Elmo had three episodes at air, and then it was a weekly show.
• Love Life with Anna Kendrick
• The Outsider
• Manifest Season 2

Repeat Shows

• Doom Patrol Season 2
• Search Party Season 3 – back after an extended break
• Looney Tunes – they may be classics, yet there is one season under wraps. And
• Looney Tunes Cartoons is renewed for more seasons to come.
• Up and coming are Frayed, Singletown, and Seth Rogan’s An American Pickle.

How to Watch HBO Max in Australia?

With no talk of HBO Max seeing release in Australia, it can leave many disgruntled fans.

However, there are ways you can access the content from HBO.

The majority of places you can access HBO Max do require you to use a VPN service, and any smart home ought to be using one anyway.

• You can sign up direct with HBOMax.com
• Hulu and YouTube TV already have access to HBO Max
• Google Play and Apple Stores have the apps

You will need a VPN to access any of these, and the means of payment or to use a workaround to subscribe.

In Australia, you can access much of the HBO Max content through Foxtel. With this, you will gain access to every drop of content from HBO and HBO Max.

It does, however, not mean you will gain full access to other content made available through HBO Max in the USA. (HBO not working? Check out our guide)

A good example is Love Life, and you can end up watching Big Bang and other available shows.