AT&T WarnerMedia's HBO will offer a bunch of TV shows and movies for free beginning on Friday. Customers will be able to access them on any platform where HBO Now and HBO Go are supported, which includes iPhones, Android devices, smart TVs, streaming boxes (like Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV) and more.
HBO said the initial plan is to provide the free content for a month. It's one way WarnerMedia may attract fans to its upcoming HBO Max service, which launches in May for $14.99 a month and will include 10,000 hours of content including TV shows, movies and original content. It will also help keep people who are stuck indoors during the coronavirus lockdown a bit more entertained.
Cable providers can also provide access through HBO on-demand on cable boxes, a company spokesperson told CNBC. HBO won't require any sort of login through the apps, so people don't need to enter in a username, password or email.
HBO Now costs $14.99 a month and provides access to all of HBO's content for people who don't already pay for it. HBO Go is a way for people who subscribe to HBO on their TVs to access the content on their phones. The free content will be available through either app.
On Friday, the following free shows will be available through HBO Now and HBO Go: "Ballers," "Barry," "Silicon Valley," "Six Feed Under," "The Sopranos," "Succession," "True Blood," Veep," "The Wire."
It will also offer documentaries such as "The Apollo," "The Case Against Adnan Syed," "Elvis Presley: The Searcher," "The Inventor," "Jane Fonda in Five Acts," "I Love you, Now Die," "McMillion$," "True Justice, "United Skates" and "We Are the Dream."
HBO will include about 20 Warner Brothers movies including "Isn't it Romatic?," "The Lego Movie 2," "Smallfoot" and "Pokemon Detective Pikachu."
