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AT&T wireless, internet customers can get one month of HBO Max free

Some AT&T customers get HBO Max at no extra cost. Others get a month free -- or possibly three months free. Or maybe one year free. (It's confusing.)

Joan E. Solsman Former Senior Reporter
Joan E. Solsman was CNET's senior media reporter, covering the intersection of entertainment and technology. She's reported from locations spanning from Disneyland to Serbian refugee camps, and she previously wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. She bikes to get almost everywhere and has been doored only once.
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Joan E. Solsman
3 min read
Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm

HBO Max will have all of HBO's programming, like Curb Your Enthusiasm, as well as a new slate of originals and licensed shows including Friends and The Big Bang Theory.

Screenshot by CNET

HBO Max, the HBO-centered streaming service that AT&T's WarnerMedia set to launch May 27, will offer a month-long free trial to most AT&T wireless and internet customers who don't qualify for a more generous promo. And other AT&T customers can qualify for a three-month or even a year-long free trial. 

Earlier this year, HBO Max said that people who already subscribe to HBO via AT&T would get the upgrade to Max for no additional cost -- that meant HBO customers through DirecTV, U-verse, AT&T TV Now, AT&T TV and AT&T wireless users can add HBO with certain unlimited plans. 

On Tuesday, AT&T specified which of its customers gets HBO Max included at no extra cost, who gets a one-month trial and who gets a three-month trial. The easiest way to figure out what you qualify for may be to check your account online or in the myAT&T app.

HBO Max is set to be one of the final entrants in the streaming wars, a seven-month window when media giants and tech titans are releasing a raft of new streaming services to take on Netflix. HBO Max was betting it could grab your interest by amping up HBO's existing streaming service with a sprawling catalog of hit shows and movies and a big-budget slate of exclusive originals packed with big-name stars. 

HBO Max was set to cost $15 a month when it rolls out in the US May 27, unless you qualify for a promo. 

The following is AT&T's breakdown of who among its customers qualifies for which deal: 

Video customers: 

  • HBO Max at no added cost: Access to HBO Max will be included in DirecTV Premier and Lo Maximo; U-Verse U400, U450, and U450 Latino; and AT&T TV Now Max packages, as well as a new AT&T TV Premiere package coming soon.
  • One year free: New AT&T TV Choice, Xtra or Ultimate, and Óptimo Más package customers and new DirecTV Choice, Xtra, Ultimate, Más Ultra or Óptimo Más package customers, will be eligible to receive HBO Max included for a year. Customers can sign up for these packages ahead of the launch of HBO Max.
  • Three months free: Existing customers on many video packages will be eligible for HBO and HBO Max for 3 months at no additional charge when HBO Max launches. But this excludes video customers on AT&T's lowest-tier plans such as DirecTV Family, U-Family, U-Basic and AT&T TV Now Plus.

Internet customers: 

  • HBO Max at no added cost: HBO Max will be included with the  AT&T Internet 1000 plan at no additional charge
  • One month free: Across other internet plans, new and existing customers can sign up for an HBO Max one-month free trial.

Wireless customers:

  • HBO Max at no added cost: HBO Max will be included in the AT&T Unlimited Elite wireless plan.
  • One month free: Across other wireless plans, new and existing customers on AT&T Unlimited Extra, AT&T Unlimited Starter and AT&T Mobile Share plans can sign up a one-month free trial.
Watch this: HBO Max brings GoT-prequel House of the Dragon and Green Lantern show (The Daily Charge, 10/30/2019)

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