Some HBO Customers Could Lose Access in the Middle of Coronavirus Quarantines

Americans across the country are currently self-isolating and doing their best to pass the time during this coronavirus pandemic. Many have turned to TV and services like HBO in order to catch up on some of their favorite series. But, according to Variety, some HBO customers may end up losing access to the service soon for a very specific reason.

HBO previously revealed that they would be dropping support for older Apple TV models as of April 30. However, as Variety reported on Saturday, they have decided to delay that move until May 15 (after which it will reportedly drop support for those second- and third-generation models of Apple TV). While HBO will support HBO Now on those aforementioned models until May 15, they will continue to have HBO Go available on those devices for an additional few months. In the future, both HBO Now and HBO Go will only be supported on the fourth-generation Apple TV HD and the Apple TV 4K. But, if HBO customers do have older models of Apple TV, they can work their way around these service disruptions by streaming from their mobile devices via AirPlay.

This move may not be great news to those with older models of Apple TV. But, this does come after the company announced some more positive news about its streaming options at the beginning of the month. Amidst social distancing and self-isolation measures that many are dealing with right now, HBO announced that they would be offering up to 500 hours of its original programming for free. On April 3, this major change went into effect. Now, users can view many pieces of HBO’s catalog, such as Veep, The Sopranos and Six Feet Under, for free.

On Tuesday, HBO made another major announcement about the use of its streaming services. According to Variety, HBO is offering their service for free to new AT&T TV and DirecTV subscribers. The offer is reportedly on the table through June 27, 2020. In addition to having a free year’s worth of HBO programming at your fingertips, new subscribers could also get three months free of Cinemax, Showtime, Starz and Epix, which are all available to eligible pay-TV subscribers. If new subscribers wish to obtain this deal, they must lock into a two-year contract with either the broadband-delivered AT&T TV service or DirecTV.