Now’s a great time to minimize the cost of HBO.
Through April 9, new and returning subscribers to Max, HBO’s streaming service, at a discount of up to 45% (versus normal monthly rates) by prepaying for a year. The discount is available on plans with and without ads:
- Max With Ads: $69.99 for the first year (normally $9.99/month)
- Max Ad-Free: $104.99 for the first year (normally $15.99/month)
- Max Ultimate Ad-Free: $139.99 for the first year (normally $19.99/month)
The deal works out to about $5.83 per month for the plan with ads, $8.75 per month for the ad-free version and $11.67 for the Ultimate Ad-Free version. It’s like getting five months of a normal-price yearly plan for free.
Max says the plans will automatically renew at then-current prices, but you can cancel any time during the first year of your subscription to avoid that.
“If you cancel your subscription, you will continue to have access to Max for the remainder of time you have already paid for,” according to the deal’s offer terms.
The discount is available to U.S. customers through Max.com and these subscription providers:
- Roku
- Google Play
- Apple
- Amazon Fire
It cannot be combined with other offers, including a free trial.
Differences between the plans
Viewers who have Max With Ads can expect about 4 minutes of advertisements per hour of streaming, Max says.
Besides ads, there are a couple of important differences between the plan types. The regular ad-free tier offers up to 30 downloaded shows and movies for offline viewing. But only those with the Ultimate Ad-Free version get these perks:
- Select movies in 4K ultra-high definition (UHD) video quality
- The ability to download up to 100 shows and movies to watch while offline
- Streaming to four devices simultaneously (the other plans allow two)
All plans allow you to enjoy the exact same content on any supported device.
Devices that work with Max
The Max app can be used with the following devices:
- Amazon Fire tablets (4th generation or later)
- Amazon Fire TV (with Fire OS 5 or later)
- Amazon Fire TV Stick
- Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod touch (with iOS 14 or later)
- Echo Show 15
- Smart TVs (with built-in Fire TV)
- Android phones and tablets (with Android OS 5.1 or later)
- Android TV (OS 5.1 or later)
- Apple TV (tvOS 14 or later)
- Chromebooks
- Chromecast
- Cox Contour 2
- Cox Contour Stream Player
- LG Smart TVs (webOS 3.5 or later)
- PC and Mac computers
- PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5
- Roku streaming devices (with OS 11 or later)
- Samsung TV (2016 models and later)
- VIZIO Smart TV (2016 models and later)
- Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S
- XClass TV
- Xumo TV
- Xfinity X1 and Flex
Finding the right streaming service for you
If Max isn’t your cup of tea, you still have plenty of options to get streaming TV at a price that makes cutting the cable cord worthwhile.
Earlier this year, we highlighted some of the best options in “13 Streaming TV Services That Cost $20 a Month — or Less.”
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