Watch HBO Online Without Cable
This guide will show you how to watch HBO without a cable or satellite TV subscription.
HBO unleashed itself from cable companies in April 2015, and spawned hits such as Game of Thrones and True Detective. Now, you can watch HBO online and on your TV using a Roku, Apple TV or Fire Stick without subscribing cable.
How much does HBO cost?
There used to be ways to get HBO for free as part of your AT&T phone plan. DirecTV Now once let you add HBO for $5 per month. But those deals are long gone. HBO will cost you $15 per month as an add-on, or more if you subscribe to a live streaming service like DirecTV Now.
There’s an excellent chance that you already subscribe to a streaming service where you can add HBO.
Two of the better ways of quickly signing up for HBO is by adding it through Hulu or on Amazon Channels through your Amazon Prime account. I am currently using Amazon Channels for HBO because it adds all live and on-demand HBO shows and movies to my Amazon Prime app. And I can use my HBO subscription through Prime to sign in to the HBO Now app.
So if you’re in a household with a number of different streaming devices such as a Roku, Fire TV and NVIDIA Shield, you can add HBO a number of ways.
Adding HBO through another streaming service is a matter of convenience. You won’t have to go through entering sign-up and payment info if you go with a streaming service you already have.
Cutting the cord from cable or satellite TV gives you more control over how and where you watch HBO. And you can decide whether HBO is something you need to keep 12 months a year. You might want to just get HBO for a little while.
How to Watch Game of Thrones Online With Hulu
With Hulu, there are a couple of different streaming packages you can use to watch HBO online or through your television.
You can get Hulu’s cheapest on-demand plan for $5.99 per month, and add HBO as part of your plan. Sign up for Hulu and add HBO to your package if you don’t already have an account.
If getting 65+ live TV channels such as ESPN and HGTV sounds more appealing, you can sign up for Hulu with Live TV. Before making a decision, you can head over to Hulu’s page and scroll down to see what locals and regional sports networks are in the channel lineup.
Here’s how you add HBO to your Hulu account.
Just head over to the Account tab on your Hulu menu, and add HBO under the Add-ons section.
Once you subscribe, you can find Game of Thrones by searching or browsing through the regular Hulu menu. To make it easier to get, just add Game of Thrones to “My Stuff” so you can quickly find it and start watching.
When Season 8 begins, you will be able to watch new episodes live – whether you have a Live TV plan or not.
Amazon Prime: Watch HBO with Amazon Channels
If you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber, adding HBO is pretty simple. HBO is among dozens of add-ons that you can make part of your Prime account. These are called Amazon Channels.
Amazon Channels can be watched on any streaming device that supports the Amazon Prime app, including Roku and Fire TV. If you use a Fire TV device, you will start to see a new row of shows and movies from HBO.
Amazon Prime has a free 30-day trial, but adding HBO costs $14.99 per month regardless.
Watch HBO Online with the Roku Channel
Just days before Season 8 of Game of Thrones debuted, Roku announced that it was adding HBO to its lineup of subscriptions. So if you already have a Roku account, you can sign up for HBO directly through Roku.
The advantage? If you’re already a frequent user of The Roku Channel for free movies and TV shows, then you can add HBO content to the mix without having to app surf directly to the HBO Now app.
Watch HBO Online Without Cable on Playstation Vue
PlayStation Vue is among the few live TV streaming services that offer HBO as an add-on. But you have to subscribe to one of Vue’s channel bundles to add HBO.
The entry-level channel bundle for PlayStation Vue is called Access, and has more than 50 live TV networks including ESPN, National Geographic and TNT. PlayStation Vue also has unlimited Cloud DVR so you can record live TV shows.
New customers can try out PS Vue free for five days. PlayStation Vue has apps for Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV and Android TV devices.
DIRECTV NOW: Watch HBO live
DirecTV Now recently re-tooled its subscriptions so that its two main channel bundles include HBO. The cheapest bundle is the Plus package, which has 40+ channels for $50 per month. The MAX package has more sports networks and includes HBO and Cinemax for $70 per month. New customers can get a free 7-day trial.
HBO NOW: Watch Game of Thrones Without Cable
HBO Now is a standalone service that doesn’t require any kind of cable TV or satellite service. It costs $15 per month. And you can watch new episodes of Game of Thrones and other popular shows as they air.
HBO Now has apps for pretty much every major streaming device, including Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chomecast and Android TV devices. There are mobile apps for iOS and Android too. You can get a free trial of HBO Now that lasts a week.
Is HBO on YouTube TV or Sling TV?
No. The only streaming services that let you add HBO are Hulu, Amazon Prime and PlayStation Vue. You can also go with the standalone HBO Now app.
So are you going to add HBO to your existing streaming service? Are you a HBO Now fan? Do you keep it all year long? Tell fellow readers in the comments below.
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