Q. I have HBO through Hulu on my Roku and I am supposed to get HBO Max, too. But I can’t seem to find the extra programming that everyone is talking about on HBO Max like Friends. What am I missing here? — Christi, Taos, New Mexico.
Christi, welcome to the confusing world of HBO Max.
As you know, you can watch the regular HBO channel on your Hulu app. And your subscription to HBO through Hulu gives you access to HBO Max as well.
But this is where it gets complicated.
You can’t watch HBO Max on Hulu. That’s right. You have to download the HBO Max app which a separate app from Hulu.
And, as you probably guessed by now, the HBO Max app is not available on Roku. (Or Amazon’s Fire TV, either.) So there’s no way for you to watch HBO Max unless you use a different streaming device such as Apple TV, Android TVs and iPhones and iPads. (To see the complete list, click here.)
If you do use one of those supported devices, you can then access HBO Max using your Hulu user name and password.
By the way, this is also the case for YouTube TV subscribers. While the live streaming service supports HBO Max, you can only watch it by downloading the HBO Max app, not by using the YouTube TV app.
HBO Max has an abundance of programming, including the traditional HBO lineup, and popular non-HBO titles such as Friends, Doctor Who, The Big Bang Theory (pictured above) and Turner Classic Movies.
But until these types of technical obstacles are overcome, I suspect many viewers will choose instead to invest in more reliable streaming services.
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvpredictions.com. Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
— Phillip Swann
What did you expect.
as I said before AT&T doesn’t want customers.
Don’t waste your time trying to get ANYTHING AT&T has to WORK
Until they get their act together
and MOVE CUSTOMER SERVICE BACK to the USA.you will NOT be happy
Wonder Woman 1984 glitches through Hbo Max app on Roku Tv with 1Gb internet service! Older movies seem fine through the app, but not the newest, hottest movie. It is an issue at the hbo server. Customers do not want to watch movie productions on laptops or phones instead of movie theaters. At least make it work on our TVs in high resolution! Do not fork out money for Hbo Max until they fix these issues…
It’s 2023 and the hbo max app will not link to Hulu ALTHOUGH I only signed up thru hulu to get the mobile app. I would have just went straight to the app. Why does anyone need to purchase the app thru another streaming service? You will have to purchase the hbo max app separately if you still want it.