TV Answer Man, I remember you wrote something about Comcast having free shows every week. Do you know if HBO is free? I heard that it was from a friend but I couldn’t watch it when I went to the channel. It said I needed a subscription. Can you clarify for me? — Delle, Miami.
Delle, you can watch HBO Max for free now on Comcast’s Xfinity, but you can’t watch HBO for free on Comcast’s Xfinity HBO channel. Confused? Let me explain.
Comcast last month announced that it was launching a new feature called, ‘Free This Week,’ that will provide Xfinity and Flex subscribers with a slate of free programming every week during the year.
The free shows, which will come from both networks and streaming services, continue this week with programming from HBO Max. (There’s also free programming from several networks targeted to African-American audiences, such as The Africa Channel, Impact Network, Afro and Cleo.)
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However, to access the free shows, subscribers must go to Comcast’s On Demand menu on their Flex or X1 set-tops. (They are also available on the Xfinity Stream app and the Xumo XClass TV.) You can access that by saying ‘Free This Week’ into your voice remote or clicking on the Menu button on your remote to see a list of Menu options.
Once there, you will see all the HBO Max programming available for free through February 5, including such critically-acclaimed shows as Succession, The Sopranos, The Wire, Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, The White Lotus, House of Dragon and Curb Your Enthusiasm, among many others. In most cases, the show’s entire run (for example: all 11 seasons of Curb) is available. There are also such movies as Elvis, Black Adam, The Menu, Amsterdam and The Batman.
Delle, hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
— Phillip Swann
@tvanswerman
