HBO discontinued support for its HBO Now app on second- and third-generation Apple TV models. The app allows HBO subscribers to access on-demand content from the cable channel’s library of original movies and shows.
The discontinuation means the HBO Now app will no longer be updated on these older devices. It will be removed entirely — so that it’s not possible to access the content anymore from those Apple TV models.
HBO Now was shown off for the first time in March 2015 at an Apple press event. Apple was the service’s exclusive launch partner. For three months after it launched, HBO Now was only available on Apple TV devices. (At the time, the latest Apple TV model was the third-gen model — one of the two cut off by this latest announcement.)
Pulling the plug on HBO Now for these devices comes just as HBO is gearing up to launch its new streaming service, HBO Max. HBO Max will be available on all new Apple devices when it launches on May 27.
New Apple TV coming soon?
Apple is also reportedly getting ready to unleash a new Apple TV model. According to Apple leaker Jon Prosser, the new Apple TV 4K, powered by the company’s A12X chip from 2018’s 11-inch iPad Pro, could drop any day now.
Older devices no longer being supported by apps happens all the time. In the case of the second- and third-generation Apple TVs, these are devices which are, by now, nine and eight years old respectively. We wouldn’t expect an iPhone that age to necessarily run the latest apps. With TV apps it can seem a bit different, however — since playing content is the raison d’être of Apple TV. Nonetheless, there’s no requirement for HBO to continue supporting legacy devices indefinitely. We guess that’s the same as HBO’s view on the topic.
