HBO Now not available on 2nd & 3rd generation Apple TVs

AppleInsider · May 17, 2020 3:34PM

Following a one-month extension, HBO Now is no longer available to use on the second-generation and third-generation Apple TV, leaving users with the prospect of upgrading to a newer model or performing a workaround to continue accessing the service.

The original decision to pull the HBO Go and HBO Now apps from earlier Apple TV models in April was postponed by a month. The late-April delay enabled users to continue using HBO Now on the Apple TV until May 15, but now access has been pulled on the second- and third-generation Apple TV.

Despite the removal of HBO Now from the Home Screen on those models, as spotted by 9to5Mac, users will still be able to take advantage of HBO Go for a while longer. An HBO spokesperson explained in April the HBO Go app will remain available for "a few additional months."

The extended availability of HBO Now may have been due to the coronavirus pandemic, though it has not been officially confirmed to have been the reason for the app's continued availability.

While owners of the older Apple TV models may be pressured to upgrade to a new fourth-generation Apple TV, there are ways to be able to continue watching via the set-top box, such as through AirPlay streaming.

HBO is currently preparing to launch HBO Max, a video streaming service that will open on May 27 with 10,000 hours of content. The service will draw from WarnerMedia's extensive 100-year-old catalog as well as offering original content, including an unscripted cast reunion of "Friends."

The service will cost $14.99 per month for new customers, though current HBO Now customers are speculated to be automatically upgraded to HBO Max without any extra fees if they are billed through the App Store or subscribe via Apple TV Channels.

lkrupp · May 17, 2020 4:57PM

I’m left wondering why HBO is doing this. Has HBO removed support for older Roku’s and Firesticks too? But time and technology marches on. Perhaps 2nd and 3rd gen Apple TV’s don’t have the ability HBO needs or may be HBO just doesn’t spend development dollars to continue supporting old hardware.

But whatever the reason we can be absolutely sure that users will blame Apple and accuse Apple of planned obsolescence. Apple will get the black eye and HBO will fly under the radar on this.

(update) I just remembered that HBO and Warner Media are now owned by AT&T. This explains everything!

edited May 2020

davebarnes · May 17, 2020 5:01PM

Whatever.
Buy a new box. It costs $5/month.

At least it is not your 18-month-old Samsung TV that will never receive software updates.

edited May 2020

fred257 · May 17, 2020 6:07PM

Just download the HBO Now app on your phone and Chromecast it. Simple as pie

strangedays · May 17, 2020 6:59PM

Side note pertaining to HBO Max.... I subscribe to the HBO channel on the “TV” app within Apple TV (so I can share it with family members, no usernames or passwords). I received this email from Apple about the new HBO Max offering:

..it appears to be saying channel subscribers can use the stand-alone app (not a channel...yet). Not sure how that will work as far as authentication credentials.

edited May 2020

apple ][ · May 17, 2020 8:16PM

lkrupp said:

I’m left wondering why HBO is doing this. Has HBO removed support for older Roku’s and Firesticks too? But time and technology marches on. Perhaps 2nd and 3rd gen Apple TV’s don’t have the ability HBO needs or may be HBO just doesn’t spend development dollars to continue supporting old hardware.

But whatever the reason we can be absolutely sure that users will blame Apple and accuse Apple of planned obsolescence. Apple will get the black eye and HBO will fly under the radar on this.

(update) I just remembered that HBO and Warner Media are now owned by AT&T. This explains everything!

I don't know their exact reason either, but they obviously must have one I would assume.

By removing support for an older device, they are making a deliberate decision to cut off the access of anybody who only has that device to subscribe to their service.

I suppose that they have stats which shows that this group of customers is not important or significant enough for them to continue to provide support or to keep the app updated for that particular group. They know who their users are and what devices they are using when they connect to the service.

The Apple TV 3 is over 8 years old, I have one myself that I keep in another room, though I mostly use the newer Apple TV 4k these days.

If somebody's newest streaming device is a very old Apple TV, is it likely that that person is going to shell out $15 a month for a streaming service?

And if somebody has an old Apple TV and they really want to have HBO on their TV and they are frugal and they don't want to buy a newer Apple TV, then I suppose that those people can always buy a cheap stick from somebody else, like the Amazon firestick 4k, which has often been on sale for like $25, so I don't see this as a huge issue.

edited May 2020

lkrupp · May 17, 2020 9:06PM

apple ][ said:

lkrupp said:

I’m left wondering why HBO is doing this. Has HBO removed support for older Roku’s and Firesticks too? But time and technology marches on. Perhaps 2nd and 3rd gen Apple TV’s don’t have the ability HBO needs or may be HBO just doesn’t spend development dollars to continue supporting old hardware.

But whatever the reason we can be absolutely sure that users will blame Apple and accuse Apple of planned obsolescence. Apple will get the black eye and HBO will fly under the radar on this.

(update) I just remembered that HBO and Warner Media are now owned by AT&T. This explains everything!

I don't know their exact reason either, but they obviously must have one I would assume.

By removing support for an older device, they are making a deliberate decision to cut off the access of anybody who only has that device to subscribe to their service.

I suppose that they have stats which shows that this group of customers is not important or significant enough for them to continue to provide support or to keep the app updated for that particular group. They know who their users are and what devices they are using when they connect to the service.

The Apple TV 3 is over 8 years old, I have one myself that I keep in another room, though I mostly use the newer Apple TV 4k these days.

If somebody's newest streaming device is a very old Apple TV, is it likely that that person is going to shell out $15 a month for a streaming service?

And if somebody has an old Apple TV and they really want to have HBO on their TV and they are frugal and they don't want to buy a newer Apple TV, then I suppose that those people can always buy a cheap stick from somebody else, like the Amazon firestick 4k, which has often been on sale for like $25, so I don't see this as a huge issue.

You are right, of course. People who hang onto old hardware and software tend not to be important in terms of generating revenue. They are not likely to spend money in the first place, especially if it requires upgrading hardware.

shapeshiftingfish · May 17, 2020 10:37PM

Well, to be fair, even Apple TV+ doesn’t work properly on my 3rd gen ATV (a known issue for many users). On the other hand, HBO apps on my brand new LG WebOS TV set are a sad mess, I guess they just have lazy programers.

I just connect my iPad to the TV via HDMI for all the problematic apps... Not as convenient, but I feel that life in general has more pressing issues at the moment, so I guess I’ll survive these horrific setbacks without much drama 😆

sdw2001 · May 17, 2020 10:45PM

I have an Apple TV 4 in my living room and had an Apple TV 2 in my garage man cave. I recently upgraded the TV out there as well as the Apple TV to a 4K. The second generation unit was crapping out a lot anyway. For several years it would frequently power off/restart mid program. There was no prime video app of course. I had actually decided to buy a new one before the news about HBO max came out.

My big question is for those of us who subscribe to HBO through our cable providers, what happens? From my understanding there has not been an answer yet. I assume they are in negotiations with the cable companies on pricing.

command_f · May 18, 2020 4:24PM

ShapeshiftingFish said:

Well, to be fair, even Apple TV+ doesn’t work properly on my 3rd gen ATV (a known issue for many users). On the other hand, HBO apps on my brand new LG WebOS TV set are a sad mess, I guess they just have lazy programers.

I just connect my iPad to the TV via HDMI for all the problematic apps... Not as convenient, but I feel that life in general has more pressing issues at the moment, so I guess I’ll survive these horrific setbacks without much drama 😆

I had that problem too but it's now working. If it helps, we appeared to get into a loop in trying to add a second Apple ID to the device (my other half has a new iPad with one year's TV+ included but the Apple TV only had my Apple ID on it). The loop was to input Apple ID and password followed by an authentication code. Long story short: in desperation, my other half took it literally and when the device said "followed by" the authentication code, she typed it into the same input field following directly after the previous text in the same field.

Thankfully, I did not laugh at this obvious misinterpretation of the dialogue 'cos it worked. Now have Apple TV+ on the TV without the need to Airplay it from the new iPad.

jbilgihan · May 18, 2020 5:24PM

CMAF - that's the reason. HBO - and soon others are going to want to consolidate the various media profiles so that they can encode once and deliver one SDR and one HDR bitrate ladder (two if HDR10 and DoVi) to all platforms.

Legacy platforms require more work and fragmented encoding/packaging/DRM.

Airplay will likely work from an IOS device.

strangedays · May 18, 2020 6:59PM

jbilgihan said:

CMAF - that's the reason. HBO - and soon others are going to want to consolidate the various media profiles so that they can encode once and deliver one SDR and one HDR bitrate ladder (two if HDR10 and DoVi) to all platforms.

Legacy platforms require more work and fragmented encoding/packaging/DRM.

Airplay will likely work from an IOS device.

Could be. Per Apple CMAF requires tvOS 10 or later:

https://developer.apple.com/documentation/http_live_streaming/about_the_common_media_application_format_with_http_live_streaming

And on this tvOS wiki it looks like 3rd gen can't run tvOS 10:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TvOS#tvOS_10

docbburk · May 22, 2020 2:04PM

I guess my question would be, when is Apple releasing the next gen Apple TV? I have a 3rd gen Apple TV and have a feeling that Apple is going to come out with a new generation of the Apple TV in a few months. If I’m going to pay the full price of a new one, I don’t want it to be “old” in a few months. I don’t want to be kicking myself for not being patient and waiting a few months to have the newest newest gen for the same price. I did that with the gen 3. Ugh

HBO Now not available on 2nd & 3rd generation Apple TVs

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