HBO | The VergeThe Verge is about technology and how it makes us feel. Founded in 2011, we offer our audience everything from breaking news to reviews to award-winning features and investigations, on our site, in video, and in podcasts.2026-07-28T15:59:37+00:00https://www.theverge.com/rss/hbo/index.xmlhttps://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/01/verge-rss-large_80b47e.png?w=150&h=150&crop=1Jay Peters<![CDATA[HBO Max is putting on vertical shorts]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=9718802026-07-28T11:59:37-04:002026-07-28T11:59:37-04:00
Warner Bros. Discovery is bringing a vertical video feed to HBO Max to help you find something new to watch. Streaming platforms like Netflix, Disney Plus, and Peacock already offer TikTok-like vertical video feeds to surface content that might be interesting to users, and now HBO Max will have a similar feed of its own.
The feed, called "HBO Max Shorts," will be accessible from an icon on the bottom navigation menu. It will show you things like trailers, clips, and bonus content from the HBO Max library, and it's tailored to you based on your watch history. You can jump into a show or movie right from the HBO Max Shorts clip or add it to y …
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Sheena Vasani<![CDATA[HBO Max’s annual plans are 28 percent off right now]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=9523262026-06-18T15:44:10-04:002026-06-18T15:18:30-04:00
You can stream Sinners and other recent Oscar winners for less with HBO Max's sale. | Image: Warner Bros. Pictures
The easiest way to save on a streaming service is often to pay for a year upfront, which HBO Max is currently making a lot cheaper. Through July 15, 2026, new and returning subscribers can get 28 percent off any of HBO Max’s yearly plans, bringing the ad-supported tier down to $78.99 ($31 off) per year, the Standard plan to $132.99 ($52 off) per year, and the Premium tier to $164.99 per year ($65 off). That’s up to 40 percent less than paying month to month.
All three plans include access to HBO Max’s extensive library of movies and TV shows, including films from Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios, A24, Studio Ghibli, and Turner Classic Movies. Subscribers can also stream recent Oscar winners and nominees like titles like Sinners,One Battle After Another, and Marty Supreme, alongside other HBO Max originals. On the TV side, you’ll also get access to popular series like The Pitt, Hacks, Euphoria, and Heated Rivalry, as well as longtime favorites such as Game of Thrones, Friends, and The Big Bang Theory.
The biggest differences come down to features. The ad-supported Basic plan lets you stream on up to two devices simultaneously, while the Standard plan lets you download up to 30 shows and movies for offline viewing. It also includes access to live sports from the likes of the MLB, U.S Soccer, college football, NHL, and more. The Premium tier lets you stream on up to four devices at once, supports 4K and Dolby Atmos, and increases offline downloads to 100 titles.
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Charles Pulliam-Moore<![CDATA[There is no ethical consumption of HBO’s Harry Potter series]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=9018182026-03-29T16:15:27-04:002026-03-29T10:00:00-04:00
In the coming years, HBO wants its new Harry Potter series to become "the streaming event of the decade" as it adapts each of the franchise's seven original books. The show could very well become a hit that captures the imaginations of a new generation of fans who weren't there for the first wave of Pottermania that intensified with the releases of each book and Warner Bros.' subsequent film adaptations. And if this Harry Potter is a success, it could give author J.K. Rowling a reason to consider writing more stories set in the magical world that turned her into a billionaire.
But all of that hinges on whether people will actually watch HBO …
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Charles Pulliam-Moore<![CDATA[HBO Max and Paramount Plus could become one streamer]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=8875382026-03-02T11:21:09-05:002026-03-02T11:21:09-05:00
During a call with investors on Monday, Paramount Skydance head David Ellison insisted that, if his deal to acquire the entirety of Warner Bros. Discovery for about $110 billion receives the necessary regulatory approvals, he plans to merge Paramount Plus and HBO Max. Ellison noted that combining the services together would give Paramount Skydance "a little over 200 million direct to consumer subscribers," but he insisted that the company would want the HBO brand to "operate with in …
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Emma Roth<![CDATA[Warner Bros. Discovery agrees to $110 billion Paramount merger]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=8864782026-02-27T16:53:28-05:002026-02-27T16:43:37-05:00
Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance's merger agreement is now official. On Friday, the two companies announced plans to merge into a massive media company that will fold WBD's studio, linear channels, streaming service, and gaming segment into Paramount.
Though WBD initially signed onto an $83 billion agreement to merge part of Warner Bros. with Netflix, Paramount persisted with a hostile takeover bid, followed by a series of offers. That persistence paid off, as WBD determined that Paramount's "best and final" offer is "superior" to Netflix's deal. On Thursday, Netflix declined to match Paramount's bid, calling it "no longer fina …
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Emma Roth<![CDATA[Netflix walks away from its deal to buy Warner Bros. after Paramount came back with a better offer]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=8857532026-02-27T18:24:05-05:002026-02-26T18:10:12-05:00
Netflix has dropped its $83 billion deal to acquire the Warner Bros. studio, HBO, and its streaming service HBO Max. In an announcement on Thursday, co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters say the streamer is "declining to match" the new bid made by Paramount:
The transaction we negotiated would have created shareholder value with a clear path to regulatory approval. However, we've always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance's latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive, so we are declining to match the Paramount Skydance bid.
We believe we would have been strong stewards of Warner Bros.' i …
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Emma Roth<![CDATA[HBO Max’s password-sharing crackdown is going global]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=8853032026-02-26T11:16:37-05:002026-02-26T11:00:09-05:00
HBO Max's password-sharing crackdown is going to get a lot bigger. During an earnings call on Thursday, Warner Bros. Discovery streaming head JB Perrette said a global expansion "will start in 2026," as reported earlier by The Wrap.
Warner Bros. Discovery has ramped up its paid sharing initiative in the US over the past year, introducing "more aggressive" prompts in August that push people toward paying an extra $7.99 per month to add another user to their account. Now that HBO Max has launched in several European countries and Latin America, with rollouts planned in the UK, Ireland, and the Asia-Pacific, the streamer likely sees more oppor …
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Charles Pulliam-Moore<![CDATA[The Pitt has a sharp take on AI]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=8810162026-02-19T18:09:26-05:002026-02-19T18:15:00-05:00
Each episode of HBO's The Pitt features some degree of medical trauma that almost makes the hospital drama feel like a horror series. Some patients are dealing with gnarly lacerations while others are fighting off vicious blood infections that could rob them of their limbs, and the chaos of working in an emergency room often leaves The Pitt's central characters shaken. But as alarming as many of The Pitt's more gore-forward moments can be, what's even more unsettling is the show's slow-burning subplot about hospitals adopting generative artificial intelligence.
In its second season, The Pitt once again chronicles all the events that happen …
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Dominic Preston<![CDATA[HBO Max is finally launching in the UK next month]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=8756682026-02-09T07:37:16-05:002026-02-09T07:33:51-05:00
Warner Bros. Discovery has announced that streaming service HBO Max will make its long-awaited debut in the UK and Ireland on March 26th, having previously promised that a launch would happen in early 2026. Until now, most HBO content has been exclusively available in the UK through Sky or the streaming service Now TV.
In the UK, the cheapest tier, Basic with Ads, will cost £4.99 per month, with Standard with Ads for £5.99. The standard plan without ads will cost £9.99, and the Premium plan will be £14.99. There'll be changes for TNT Sports customers too, who from March 26 will access their sports content through HBO Max, rather than throug …
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Jay Peters<![CDATA[HBO is turning Baldur’s Gate into a TV show]]>https://www.theverge.com/?p=8746822026-02-06T12:29:32-05:002026-02-05T19:50:16-05:00
HBO is developing a Baldur's Gate TV show that will continue the story of Larian Studios' hit RPG Baldur's Gate 3, according to Deadline. The Last Of Us co-creator Craig Mazin will serve as the show's creator, writer, executive producer, and showrunner.
While it's set to feature new protagonists, the plan is for existing characters from the game to return, and Mazin plans to reach out to cast members from Baldur's Gate 3 with "ideas for them to participate in the TV adaptation and ways that would make that possible," Deadline says. (I hope the whole main cast returns because they're all so great.)
