Millions of Sky TV customers just got the huge free update they've been waiting for

Sky remote pointing at HBO Max opening screen on Sky Stream/Glass — (Image credit: Rik Henderson / Future)

Quick Summary

HBO Max is now available on Sky. And if you are a Sky Q customer, or have an Ultimate TV subscription with Sky Stream or Sky Glass, you get it for free.

You just need to sign up for an account through your Sky device.

It's here! HBO Max has finally launched in the UK and millions of Sky TV customers benefit from free access.

A Sky Ultimate TV package will cost £24 per month from 1 April, but it's available right now for just £22. That includes a Sky Stream puck, which you can use to stream all content to your existing TV via HDMI. You just need a decent broadband connection.

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Alternatively, you can upgrade to a Sky Glass TV with an Ultimate TV package.

What is HBO Max and how much does it usually cost?

HBO Max is a new streaming service for the UK but has actually been available in the US and some other regions for years. It is not only home to original HBO content, such as Game of Thrones, The Sopranos, and Succession, it includes Warner Bros. movies.

At launch, that includes the winner of Best Picture at the recent Oscars, One Battle After Another, and the streaming platform debut of Superman.

HBO Max will also exclusively screen the new Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone TV series later this year, with the first trailer just hitting the net.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | Official Teaser | HBO Max - YouTube

Watch On

Alternatively, if you don't want to wait, you can watch all of the Harry Potter movies on the service now.

There are four subscription tiers available, Basic with Ads (the one that's free with Sky), Standard with Ads, Standard, and Premium. You can also add TNT Sports to your package to watch live Premium League and European football, plus many more sports, all through the service.

Basic with Ads usually costs £4.99 per month and allows you to stream on two devices at once, in Full HD and with 5.1 sound. You don't get to download shows for offline viewing, however.

Standard with Ads costs £5.99 and is the same, but adds up to 30 downloads for offline viewing.

Standard is £9.99 per month and ditches the adverts. Otherwise, it is the same as the previous tier – the same picture and sound quality and download limits.

Finally, Premium is £14.99 per month and expands the amount of devices you can watch on simultaneously to four. You also get 4K HDR video and Dolby Atmos sound where possible, and can download up to 100 shows and movies at a time.

Sky customers can choose to upgrade their tier and link an online account with their service. Also, some HBO programming will continue to be shown on Sky TV – on the Sky Atlantic channel.

That will include new seasons of shows that have previously been offered on Sky's channels, such as House of the Dragon and The White Lotus.

Now customers will also be able to watch HBO Max programming (with ads) through the existing Now app.

Rik is T3’s news editor, which means he looks after the news team and the up-to-the-minute coverage of all the hottest gadgets and products you’ll definitely want to read about. And, with more than 35 years of experience in tech and entertainment journalism, including editing and writing for numerous websites, magazines, and newspapers, he’s always got an eye on the next big thing.

Rik also has extensive knowledge of AV, TV streaming and smart home kit, plus just about everything to do with games since the late 80s. Prior to T3, he spent 13 years at Pocket-lint heading up its news team, and was a TV producer and presenter on such shows as Channel 4's GamesMaster, plus Sky's Games World, Game Over, and Virtual World of Sport.

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