HBO

HBO (Home Box Office) is an American pay television network owned by WarnerMedia Entertainment and the flagship property of parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc. Programming featured on the network consists primarily of theatrically released motion pictures and original television programs, along with made-for-cable movies, documentaries and occasional comedy and concert specials.

HBO is the oldest and longest continuously operating subscription television service (basic or premium) in the United States, having been in operation since November 8, 1972. The overall HBO business unit is one of WarnerMedia’s most profitable assets, generating operating income of nearly $2 billion each year; HBO has 140 million subscribers worldwide as of 2018.

The network operates seven 24-hour, linear multiplex channels as well as video on demand and streaming platforms, including HBO Go (a TV Everywhere service for HBO’s linear television subscribers that launched in February 2010) and HBO Now (which launched in April 2015, and has over 5 million subscribers in the United States as of February 2018), and its content is the centerpiece of HBO Max, an expanded streaming platform that also includes separate original programming and content from other WarnerMedia properties. The HBO linear channels are not accessible on either streaming service, but continue to be available to existing subscribers of traditional and virtual pay TV providers, and to Apple and Amazon customers through streaming partnerships with those companies.