What just happened? HBO is doing its part to alleviate the boredom felt by millions of Americans in lockdown. The network is making more than 500 hours of its programs and movies, including The Sopranos, Veep, The Wire, and Detective Pikachu, free to non-subscribers. And no, Game of Thrones isn’t included.
We’ve already seen several companies, including porn giants, offering their products for free as a way of encouraging people to stay indoors. Starting today, part of HBO’s #StayAtHomeBoxOffice campaign will include the ability to stream a trove of its content without having to pay.
HBO said its decision was made “to provide some entertainment relief for those doing their part to keep everyone safe and healthy in this time of social isolation.”
The nine full series available include Ballers, Six Feet Under, and Succession, along with classic television such as The Sopranos and The Wire. My personal favorite show—Silicon Valley—is also on the list, which you can see below. Sadly, Game of Thrones is only available to paying customers.
You can also watch twenty Warner Bros. Movies, including Sucker Punch and The Lego Movie 2, along with ten docuseries and documentaries, one of which is Theranos documentary The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley.
You can watch the free content by downloading HBO Now or HBO Go, or going to HBONow.com or HBOGo.com.
While this is a generous move by HBO, giving a sample of its content will likely attract new subscribers. Its HBO Max service, which includes everything on HBO, launches in May for $14.99 per month.
The lockdown has seen HBO Now streaming increase 40 percent in March, with series binge-watching up 65 percent and movie watching up 70 percent. Streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+ have seen an uptick in new users, Steam keeps breaking its cumulative user record, and Facebook is seeing a surge in traffic.
Free HBO content available to stream:
Full Series
1. Ballers (5 Seasons)
2. Barry (2 Seasons)
3. Silicon Valley (6 Seasons)
4. Six Feet Under (5 Seasons)
5. The Sopranos (7 Seasons)
6. Succession (2 Seasons)
7. True Blood (7 Seasons
8. Veep (7 Seasons)
9. The Wire (5 Seasons)
Warner Bros. Movies
1. Arthur
2. Arthur 2: On the Rocks
3. Blinded By the Light
4. The Bridges of Madison County
5. Crazy, Stupid, Love
6. Empire of the Sun
7. Forget Paris
8. Happy Feet Two
9. Isn’t It Romantic?
10. The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part
11. Midnight Special
12. My Dog Skip
13. Nancy Drew And The Hidden Staircase
14. Pan
15. Pokémon Detective Pikachu
16. Red Riding Hood
17. Smallfoot
18. Storks
19. Sucker Punch
20. Unknown
Docuseries and Documentaries
1. The Apollo
2. The Case Against Adnan Syed
3. Elvis Presley: The Searcher
4. I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth v. Michelle Carter
5. The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley
6. Jane Fonda in Five Acts
7. McMillion$
8. True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality
9. United Skates
10. We Are the Dream: The Kids of the MLK Oakland Oratorical Fest
https://www.techspot.com/news/84681-hbo-giving-away-500-hours-free-streaming-content.html
