Ever since HBO Max was announced, there was speculation regarding its effect on previous apps, HBO Go and HBO Now. Warner Bros. has officially chosen to shutter the former and rename the latter "HBO."According to Variety, the change is being made in order to avoid brand confusion around HBO Max and other HBO apps. According the The Hollywood Reporter's Natalie Jarvey, "WarnerMedia is officially 'sunsetting' HBO Go and will rebrand HBO Now as, simply, HBO."
WarnerMedia aims to streamline all of its services and sell HBO Max as the premiere service. All HBO Now subscribers will still have access to HBO on platforms where it remains available, including Roku and Amazon Fire TV. Since WarnerMedia does not have distribution deals with either of those services, they still carry basic HBO.
"Most customers who have traditionally used HBO Go to stream HBO programming are now able to do so via HBO Max, which offers access to all of HBO together with so much more," a WarnerMedia spokeperson said in a statement. HBO Go will officially shut down on July 31.
HBO Max is currently available to download and stream.