How to watch Max in the UK: stream HBO movies and shows abroad
Oct. 10, 2024A complete guide to all the details and ways that you can watch HBO Max in the UK right now
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Wondering how to watchHBO Maxin the UK? Then you have come to the right place. The unfortunate news is that accessing the streamer – which has been renamed Max – is not as easy as signing up and logging in.
How to watch Max shows in the UK via NOW
The official way to watch the majority of Max shows and thebest HBO Max moviesin the UK is through the streaming service NOW TV. But before you go signing up, you should be aware that NOW TV offers multiple different passes, and it can get quite confusing. So, below we’ve listed them all down for you.
First, there’s theEntertainment Membership, which gives you access to the majority of TV shows available on NOW. That includes HBO shows, like The Penguin and White Lotus, and series from Sky Atlantic, such as The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, as well as Sky Originals, like Brassic and Gangs of London. At the time of writing, the Entertainment Membership is £9.99 a month, or £6.99 a month if you sign up for six months.
This pass doesn’t include Hayu TV shows, such as Below Deck and Vanderpump Rules, which are available through a different pass on NOW calledthe Hayu Membership, which is an additional £4.99 a month.
The Entertainment Membership also doesn’t include access to some of the best movies on Max; you will need theCinema Membershipfor that. The Cinema Membership is also £9.99 a month, or £6.99 a month if you sign up for six months.
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There is the option tobundle the Entertainment and Cinema Memberships togetherfor a discounted cost, costing £13.99 a month – but be warned, without an additional pass, you will get adverts while watching NOW, and the content can only be streamed in 720p.
To remove adverts, you will need something called Boost, which is £6 extra a month (this is often discounted to £1 a month for fresh sign-ups). This will also allow you to stream in full HD. And then there’s Ultra Boost, which lets you stream in 4K but is even more expensive, costing £9 a month.
Oh, and then there’s theSports Membership, which gives you access to various Premier League games and F1 races. Phew. That’s a lot of passes.
Max has not been officially launched in the UK due to Warner Bros. Discovery, the studio behind Max, having a deal with Sky. That’s frustrating because Max not only offers a whole load of HBO shows but also Warner Bros. movies such as Dune and The Batman.
However, there are ways to access HBO Max from the UK. First, you will need a US-issued credit or debit card to pay for Max (unfortunately, Max has stopped those without US cards from paying with PayPal or Apple Pay, and therefore, having a US-issued card is the only way forward here).
Next, you will need a VPN – or virtual private network. By using a VPN, you can set up your computer so that it appears to be in a different country, and in our case, we want this to be the US. Of course, you will want to use a trustworthy and safe VPN. To know which one is for you, check out our piece on thebest VPNs for gaming, which is topped byExpressVPN.
Whatever VPN you choose, once it’s installed, change your location to the US. From there, navigate to the Max website, where you will be given a choice of memberships. The regular Max price is$9.99 (around £7.56 as of writing)a month, but it has ads and limits you to 1080p streaming.
Then there’s the$16.99 (£12.86) a month tier, which is ad-free, and you can stream on two devices concurrently. And finally, the$20.99 (£15.89) a monthMax Ultimate Ad Free tier, which features 4K streaming. These also come in annual packages priced at $99.99, $169.99, and $209.99 (or around £75.71, £128.71, and £159.00) per year for the respective package. Check out our piece on thebest HBO pricesfor all the latest discounts, including bundles withDisneyPlus and Hulu.
Choose the appropriate package and you now have access to HBO’s massive library of content. Just remember that every time you log into Max, you will need to have your VPN set to the appropriate location. You will also find that games consoles, Smart TVs, and other streaming devices that are made for the UK market will not have access to the Max app, but most likely will have NOW apps, which may put you off going all the way with Max.
For more viewing guides, check out our recommendations for the bestupcoming TV showsandupcoming movies. You can also check out the latestDisney Plus bundles,and we have you covered on other streamers with our guides to the latestPeacock TV costsandParamount Plus prices.
Jack Shepherd is the former Senior Entertainment Editor of GamesRadar. Jack used to work at The Independent as a general culture writer before specializing in TV and film for the likes of GR+, Total Film, SFX, and others. You can now find Jack working as a freelance journalist and editor.
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