HBO is the latest addition to Apple’s new TV app, and it comes with a couple of handy extra features, including a weeklong free trial and support for offline viewing.
HBO has joined the Apple TV Channels program, 9to5Mac reports, and costs $15, the same price that you’d pay for an HBO Now subscription or HBO access through services like Sling TV or Hulu.
In case you need a reminder, Apple TV Channels is different from Apple TV, which is a piece of hardware, or Apple TV Plus, Apple’s upcoming Netflix competitor. The Apple TV Channels program is part of Apple’s revamped television app, and allows customers to subscribe to individual channels for extra fees.
When you’re watching HBO through the Apple TV app, you’ll be able to take advantage of all of the app’s features. That means that you’ll be able to share your HBO subscription across six individual devices and download HBO content to your mobile device so that you can watch it offline, which is something that the standard HBO Now app doesn’t allow.
If you’re an existing HBO Now subscriber, you won’t be able to merge your account with Apple’s service, meaning that the only way to use the Apple TV Channels version of the premium network is to cancel your existing subscription and sign up again through the Apple TV app (or have two subscriptions running simultaneously).
On the plus side, Apple TV Channels is offering a one-week free trial for new HBO subscribers, so you’ll be able to watch next week’s episode of Game of Thrones, which will deal with the fallout from the game-changing Battle of Winterfell, free of charge.
The new Apple TV app is currently in beta, and can be downloaded by anyone who wants to install beta versions of iOS or tvOS on their Apple devices. Keep in mind, however, that beta software is often buggy and unstable, and we recommend against installing beta operating systems on your primary phones or tablets.
The new Apple TV app is expected to exit beta testing later this month, and will make its way to non-Apple devices like Samsung Smart TVs, Roku and Amazon Fire TV streaming boxes, and other pieces of hardware at a later date.
