Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. News

AT&T extends its offer of free HBO to Unlimited Choice plan users

AT&T expands offer of free HBO to Unlimited Choice plan subscribers

By and

AT&T wants you to sign up for its unlimited data plan, and it’s sweetening the pot by giving subscribers on its Unlimited Choice plan free access to HBO.

In April, the carrier threw in free HBO subscriptions for new and existing customers on Unlimited Plus, its $90-a-month unlimited talk, text, and data plan. And on Tuesday, September 12, it expanded that offer to folks on its $60-a-month Unlimited Choice tier.

Recommended Videos

Starting September 15, new and existing Unlimited Choice customers will be able to access HBO either through the HBO Go app or an existing DirecTV television subscription. If you already have an AT&T video account and aren’t paying for HBO, the channel will be added automatically to your account at no extra cost, and if you currently already pay for HBO, you’ll get it free of charge.

Related: 
Best new movies to stream on Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Max (HBO), and more

So now that both Unlimited Choice and Unlimited Plus include HBO, what’s the difference between these two AT&T’s unlimited plans? It mostly comes down to extras. Unlimited Choice customers get video at “DVD quality” (480p) while on AT&T’s wireless network, while Unlimited Plus subscribers get HD (1080p) when available, and Unlimited Plus customers also get 10GB of hot spot data at no extra charge.

AT&T and HBO seem to have a pretty good relationship. Just last month, AT&T began including a free year of HBO access to those who sign up for DirecTV Now. This new deal, however, seems a little better because you will apparently keep your HBO access as long as you stay on AT&T Unlimited Plus or Unlimited Choice, which could potentially be a lot longer than a year.

Before the promotion, access to HBO came with a $5-a-month price tag.

The news comes as AT&T is preparing to purchase HBO’s parent company, Time Warner, with a bid of approximately $85 billion.

U.S. carriers are engaged in quite the war over who can offer the best unlimited data plan. In early September, T-Mobile added a free Netflix subscription for customers with two or more lines on its T-Mobile One or One Plus unlimited plans, and in June, Sprint began giving unlimited customers six months of free music streaming from Tidal.

Zero-rating schemes and free video have been a big part of these offerings, and while HBO is currently unique to AT&T, we wouldn’t be surprised to see similar add-ons from other carriers in the near future.

Update: Added information about AT&T’s expanded HBO offer for Unlimited Choice customers. 

Christian de Looper
Christian de Looper
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Christian de Looper is a long-time freelance writer who has covered every facet of the consumer tech and electric vehicle…
Topics

Editors’ Recommendations

Control is free to play if you have an AT&T plan
Jesse Faden holding her gun and using her powers in Control promo art.

Gamers who happen to be AT&T customers are going to be having a happy Monday. The internet service provider announced that it's making Remedy's hit game Control -- specifically, Control: Ultimate Edition -- temporarily available to stream on their phones, tablets, and PC for free.

AT&T said that customers can instantly play Control: Ultimate Edition on any device connected to AT&T internet at no extra cost to them without downloading the game or waiting for the game to finish downloading. They can access the game with an AT&T postpaid mobility plan, which doesn't require a subscription.

Read more
AT&T’s top unlimited plan removes throttling, upgrades HBO Max to 4K
Woman Using Phone Lifestyle

AT&T customers subscribed to the Unlimited Elite plan have reason to celebrate. The carrier announced that it is scrapping throttling regardless of data usage. The mobile hotspot data allowance still exists, but it’s been upped to 40GB from its previous 30GB.

Last but not least, the existing HBO Max subscription already included for HBO Max subscribers is beefed up to 4K UHD from standard resolution. AT&T is also emphasizing some of its security features, like ActiveArmor, which provides network security features, automatic fraud call blocking, and suspected spam risk alerts.

Read more
T-Mobile’s new Magenta Max plan offers truly unlimited 5G data, 40GB of hot spot
The T-Mobile logo on a smartphone.

T-Mobile is adding another phone plan to its lineup, and it's the plan you may want to go for if you're a heavy data user with a 5G-compatible phone. Why? The company says that it won't throttle users -- no matter how much data they use.

The new plan is called Magenta Max, and T-Mobile says it's the first plan to allow for unlimited 5G data use without being throttled based on how much data you use. Not only that, but you won't be limited in other ways either -- you'll be able to stream 4K video, and you'll get a hefty 40GB of hot spot data per month to share with other devices. (And of course, if you find yourself in a 4G-only area, you still get unlimited data.)

Read more