View source for HBO

{{short description|American pay television content service}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox television channel
| name = HBO
| logo = [[File:HBO logo.svg|frameless|class=skin-invert]]
| type = [[Pay television|Premium television service]]
| country = United States
| area = National
| headquarters = [[30 Hudson Yards]], New York City<ref>{{cite web|title=Contact US - WarnerMedia|url=https://www.warnermedia.com/au/basic-page/contact-us|website=[[WarnerMedia]]|date=September 2, 2022|access-date=September 2, 2022|archive-date=September 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220902130436/https://www.warnermedia.com/au/basic-page/contact-us|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| language = English, <br />Spanish (HBO Latino; also as [[Second audio program|SAP]] option on all other channels)
| picture_format = [[1080i]] ([[High-definition television|HDTV]])<br />(downscaled to letterboxed [[480i]] for the network's [[Standard-definition television|SDTV]] channel feeds)
| timeshift_service = {{Plainlist|
* HBO ([[Eastern Time Zone|East]] / [[Pacific Time Zone|West]] / [[Hawaii–Aleutian Time Zone|Hawaii]]),
* HBO2 (East / West),
* HBO Comedy (East / West),
* HBO Family (East / West),
* HBO Latino (East / West),
* HBO Signature (East / West),
* HBO Zone (East / West)
}}
| owner = [[Warner Bros. Discovery]]
| parent = [[Home Box Office, Inc.]]
| key_people = {{Plainlist|
* Casey Bloys (CEO/chairman)
* Amy Gravitt (co-EVP, programming)
* Francesca Orsi (co-EVP, programming)
* Nina Rosenstein (co-EVP, programming)
}}
| former_names = Sterling Cable Network (proposed; 1972)
| sister_channels = {{collapsible list|
* [[Cinemax]]
* [[Adult Swim]]
* [[American Heroes Channel]]
* [[Animal Planet]]
* [[AT&T SportsNet]]
* [[Boomerang (TV network)|Boomerang]]
* [[Cartoon Network]]
* [[Cartoonito (American programming block)|Cartoonito]]
* [[CNN]]
* [[Cooking Channel]]
* [[Food Network]]
* [[The CW]] <!-- sale pending -->
* [[Destination America]]
* [[Discovery Channel]]
* [[Discovery en Español]]
* [[Discovery Family]]
* [[Discovery Familia]]
* [[Discovery Life]]
* [[HGTV]]
* [[HLN (TV network)|HLN]]
* [[Investigation Discovery]]
* [[Magnolia Network]]
* [[Motor Trend (TV network)|Motor Trend]]
* [[Oprah Winfrey Network]]
* [[Science Channel]]
* [[TBS (American TV channel)|TBS]]
* [[TLC (TV network)|TLC]]
* [[TNT (American TV network)|TNT]]
* [[Travel Channel]]
* [[TruTV]]
* [[Turner Classic Movies]]
}}
| founder = [[Charles Dolan]]
| launch_date = {{Start date and age|1972|11|08}}
| website = {{URL|hbo.com}}
| online_serv_1 = [[HBO Max]]
| online_chan_1 = {{URL|max.com}}
* (American cable internet subscribers only; requires subscription, trial, or television provider login to access content)
| online_serv_2 = [[Hulu]]
| online_chan_2 = {{URL|hulu.com}}
* (subscription of add-on with either its base or Hulu + Live TV tiers required to access linear feeds and VOD content)
| online_serv_3 = [[YouTube TV]]
| online_chan_3 = {{URL|tv.youtube.com}}
* (subscription to its Max add-on required to access linear feeds and VOD content){{NoteTag|Until the former was deprecated in December 2023, YouTube TV offered both a standalone HBO add-on (consisting only of in-app access to live feeds of the seven linear channels and the network's VOD content) for subscribers of its base channel package, and an HBO Max/Max add-on (including linear and VOD content as well as provider login access to the HBO Max app). Since c. September 2022, the HBO Max/Max add-on does not require a base tier subscription to purchase.}}
| online_serv_4 = {{Plainlist|
* [[Amazon Prime Video#Amazon Channels|Prime Video Channels]]
* [[The Roku Channel]]
* [[YouTube|YouTube Primetime Channels]]
* [[DirecTV Stream]]
}}
| online_chan_4 = (subscription to Max add-on required to access linear feeds and VOD content){{NoteTag|DirecTV Stream customers are required to subscribe to one of its base programming tiers in order to purchase the Max add-on.}}
}}
''' Home Box Office''' ('''HBO''') is an American [[pay television]] service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary [[Home Box Office, Inc.]], itself a unit owned by [[Warner Bros. Discovery]]. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based at Warner Bros. Discovery's corporate headquarters inside [[30 Hudson Yards]] in Manhattan. Programming featured on the service consists primarily of theatrically released [[feature film|motion pictures]] and [[Original programming|original]] television programs as well as made-for-cable movies, documentaries, occasional comedy, and concert [[television special|specials]], and periodic [[Interstitial television show|interstitial programs]] (consisting of short films and [[making-of]] documentaries).

HBO is the oldest subscription television service in the United States still in operation, as well as the country's first [[Cable television in the United States|cable-originated]] television content service (both as a regional [[microwave transmission|microwave]]- and national [[communications satellite|satellite]]-transmitted service).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Brandon |first=Elissaveta M. |date=May 26, 2023 |title=What was HBO Max thinking? 3 experts decode the rebrand blunder of the year |work=[[Fast Company]] |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90901410/what-was-hbo-max-thinking-three-branding-experts-decode-the-rebrand-blunder-of-the-year |url-status=live |access-date=October 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601011419/https://www.fastcompany.com/90901410/what-was-hbo-max-thinking-three-branding-experts-decode-the-rebrand-blunder-of-the-year |archive-date=June 1, 2023}}</ref> HBO pioneered modern pay television upon its launch on November 8, 1972: it was the first television service to be directly transmitted and distributed to individual cable television systems, and was the conceptual blueprint for the "premium channel", pay television services sold to subscribers for an extra monthly fee that do not accept [[television advertisement|traditional advertising]] and present their programming without [[expurgation|editing for objectionable material]]. It eventually became the first television channel in the world to begin transmitting via satellite—expanding the growing regional pay service, originally available to cable and [[Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service|multipoint distribution service]] (MDS) providers in the northern [[Mid-Atlantic (United States)|Mid-Atlantic]] and southern [[New England]], into a national television service—in September 1975, and, alongside sister channel [[Cinemax]], was among the first two American pay television services to offer complimentary [[Multiplex (television)|multiplexed channels]] in August 1991.

The service operates seven 24-hour, linear multiplex channels as well as a traditional subscription [[video on demand]] platform (HBO On Demand) and its content is the centerpiece of [[Max (streaming service)|HBO Max]] (formerly known as Max), an expanded streaming platform operated separately from but sharing management with Home Box Office, Inc., which also includes original programming produced exclusively for the service and content from other Warner Bros. Discovery properties. Since December 4, 2024, livestreams of most of HBO's linear feeds (except for multiplex channels HBO Family and HBO Latino) are accessible on the Max streaming app to American subscribers of its Ad-Free and Ultimate Ad-Free tiers (exclusive to accounts with adult profiles).<ref>{{cite web|title=HBO's Cable Channels Begin Streaming on Max|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/hbo-cable-channels-streaming-max-1236077033/|author=Rick Porter|magazine=The Hollywood Reporter|date=December 4, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Max Launches Live Feeds of HBO Programming in New In-App 'Channels' Feature|url=https://www.thewrap.com/max-live-feeds-hbo-programming-in-app-channels-feature/|author=Lucas Manfredi|website=The Wrap|date=December 4, 2024}}</ref> Linear [[East Coast of the United States|East]] or [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]] HBO channel feeds are also available via Max's [[a la carte pay television|a la carte]] add-ons sold through [[Amazon Prime Video#Amazon Channels|Prime Video Channels]], [[YouTube|YouTube Primetime Channels]], [[The Roku Channel]] and virtual pay television providers [[Hulu]] and [[YouTube TV]] (both of which sell their HBO/Max add-ons independently of their respective live TV tiers).<ref>{{cite web|title=Hulu Adds HBO In Time For 'Game Of Thrones Season 7 Premiere |url=https://deadline.com/2017/07/hulu-adds-hbo-game-of-thrones-season-7-premiere-cinemax-streaming-1202124374/|author=Denise Petski|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|publisher=[[Penske Media Corporation]]|date=July 6, 2017|access-date=November 2, 2022|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801214241/https://deadline.com/2017/07/hulu-adds-hbo-game-of-thrones-season-7-premiere-cinemax-streaming-1202124374/|archive-date=August 1, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=You can now buy some YouTube TV add-ons without the $65 base plan|url=https://www.engadget.com/youtube-tv-add-on-channel-subscriptions-172712214.html|author=Kris Holt|website=[[Engadget]]|date=September 30, 2022|access-date=November 2, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release|title=Max Launches on The Roku Channel|url=https://newsroom.roku.com/news/2024/11/max-launches-on-the-roku-channel/d8pr8gpt-1731503414|website=[[Roku]]|date=November 13, 2024|access-date=December 4, 2024}}</ref>

{{As of|2018|September|}}, HBO's programming was available to approximately 35.656&nbsp;million U.S. households that had a subscription to a [[multichannel video programming distributor|multichannel television provider]] (34.939&nbsp;million of which receive HBO's primary channel at minimum),<ref name="Cable Subs">{{cite web|title=Nielsen coverage estimates for September see gains at ESPN networks, NBCSN, and NBA TV, drops at MLBN and NFLN (Cable Network Coverage Area Household Universe Estimates: September 2018)|url=http://awfulannouncing.com/espn/nielsen-coverage-estimates-september-espn-nbcsn-nbatv-mlbn-nfln.html|author=Andrew Bucholtz|website=Awful Announcing|publisher=[[NESN|NESN Digital]]|date=September 10, 2018|access-date=September 20, 2018}}</ref> giving it the largest subscriber total of any American premium channel.{{Efn|From 2006 to 2018, this distinction was held by [[Starz Encore]]—currently owned by [[Lionsgate Studios|Lionsgate]] subsidiary [[Starz Inc.]]—which, according to February 2015 [[Nielsen Media Research|Nielsen]] estimates, had 40.54&nbsp;million pay subscribers vs. the 35.8&nbsp;million subscribers that HBO had at the time.<ref>{{cite web|title=List of how many homes each cable network is in as of July 2015|url=http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2015/07/21/list-of-how-many-homes-each-cable-network-is-in-as-of-july-2015/434373/|author=Robert Seidman|website=[[TV by the Numbers]]|date=July 21, 2015|access-date=July 27, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150724162303/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2015/07/21/list-of-how-many-homes-each-cable-network-is-in-as-of-july-2015/434373/|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 24, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release|title=2015 Company Overview|url=http://starz.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=18|publisher=[[Starz Inc.]]|date=December 31, 2014|access-date=March 23, 2015}}</ref>}} In addition to its U.S. subscriber base, HBO distributes its programming content in at least 151 countries worldwide to, {{as of|2018|lc=y||df=}}, an estimated 140&nbsp;million cumulative subscribers.<ref name="Time Warner">{{cite web|title=HBO: Home Box Office|url=http://www.timewarner.com/our-content/home-box-office/|website=[[WarnerMedia|Time Warner]]|date=September 24, 2012|access-date=October 5, 2012|archive-date=February 9, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209044645/http://www.timewarner.com/our-content/home-box-office|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":0">AT&T 10-K for 2018</ref>

==History==
{{main|History of HBO}}
Cable television executive [[Charles Dolan]]—through his company, Sterling Information Services—founded Manhattan Cable TV Services (renamed Sterling Manhattan Cable Television in January 1971), a cable system franchise serving an [[Upper Manhattan]] section of New York City (covering an area extending southward from [[79th Street (Manhattan)|79th Street]] on the [[Upper East Side]] to [[86th Street (Manhattan)|86th Street]] on the Upper West Side), which began limited service in September 1966. Manhattan Cable was notable for being the first urban underground cable television system to operate in the United States.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Manhattan Cable begins limited CATV service |periodical=Broadcasting |page=47 |date=September 12, 1966}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=TV In the USA: A History of Icons, Idols, and Ideas|author=Vincent Lobrutto|publisher=Greenwood|location=Santa Barbara, California|pages=xli|year=2018}}</ref><ref name="Sterling Cable">{{cite web|title=1970s: Coming of Age – Sterling Manhattan Cable|url=http://m.history.timewarnercable.com/the-twc-story/era-1970s/Story.aspx?story=44|publisher=[[Time Warner Cable]]|date=February 18, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130412001540/http://m.history.timewarnercable.com/the-twc-story/era-1970s/Story.aspx?story=44|archive-date=April 12, 2013}}</ref>

With external expenses resulting in consistent financial losses, in the summer of 1971, while on a family vacation to France aboard the [[Queen Elizabeth 2]], a desperate Dolan—wanting to help Sterling Manhattan turn profitable and to prevent [[Time Life|Time-Life, Inc.]] (then the book publishing unit of [[Time Inc.]]) from pulling its investment in the system—developed a proposal for a cable-originated television channel. [[Code name#Project code name|Codenamed]] "'''The Green Channel'''", the conceptual subscription service would offer unedited theatrical movies licensed from the [[major film studio|major Hollywood film studios]] and live sporting events, all presented without interruptions by [[television advertisement|advertising]] and sold for a flat monthly fee to prospective subscribers. On November 2, 1971, Time Inc.'s board of directors approved the "Green Channel" proposal, agreeing to give Dolan a $150,000 development grant for the project.<ref name="Green Channel">{{cite web |author=Bill Mesce |date=August 11, 2013 |title=It's Not TV: HBO, The Company That Changed Television: The Green Channel |url=http://www.soundonsight.org/its-not-tv-hbo-the-company-that-changed-television-thel-green-channel/ |access-date=February 1, 2014 |publisher=Sound on Sight}}{{Dead link|date=June 2022|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref><ref name="psu-hbo">{{cite web|title=Risk: A Game of Cable Domination|url=http://pabook2.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/HBO.html|author=Kimberly C. Van Schoick|website=Pennsylvania Center for the Book|publisher=[[Penn State University]]|date=Fall 2010|access-date=January 23, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515203331/http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/HBO.html|archive-date=May 15, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Accord on Growth of Cable TV Unlikely to Affect City Soon|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/11/13/archives/accord-on-growth-of-cable-tv-unlikely-to-affect-city-soon.html|author=Jack Gould|newspaper=The New York Times|date=November 13, 1971|access-date=July 21, 2020}}</ref>

Time-Life and Sterling Communications soon proposed for the "'''Sterling Cable Network'''" to be the name of the new service. Discussions to change the service's name took place during a later meeting of Dolan and the executive staff he hired to assist in developing the project, who ultimately settled on calling it "'''<u>H</u>ome [[Box office|<u>B</u>ox <u>O</u>ffice]]'''", which was meant to convey to potential customers that the service would be their "[[Ticket (admission)|ticket]]" to movies and events that they could see in their own home.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Profile: A young Philadelphian puts a big circle around Sept. 30 on HBO's calendar |periodical=Broadcasting |page=73 |date=September 8, 1975}}</ref><ref name="Green Channel"/>

Home Box Office launched at 7:30&nbsp;p.m. [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern Time]] on November 8, 1972, initially available to subscribers of Teleservice Cable (now [[Service Electric|Service Electric Cable TV and Communications]]) in [[Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Inventing the Movies: Hollywood's Epic Battle Between Innovation and the Status Quo, From Thomas Edison to Steve Jobs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9jcYfsgKFGwC&q=Home+Box+Office+November+8,+1972+Sometimes+a+Great+Notion|author=Scott Kirsner|publisher=CreateSpace Publishing|page=53|isbn=9781438209999|date=May 15, 2008|access-date=December 13, 2016}}</ref><ref name="newspapers-hbodebut">{{cite news|title=HBO Home Box Office first broadcast|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18804318/hbo_home_box_office_first_broadcast/|newspaper=[[Times Leader|Wilkes-Barre Times Leader]]|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|page=39|date=November 8, 1972|access-date=August 13, 2019}}</ref><ref name="hboguide-111974">{{cite magazine|title=HBO Guides: November 1974|url=http://hboguides.com/1974/1974-11.html|periodical=HBO Guide|publisher=[[Home Box Office, Inc.]]|via=The HBO Guide Archive|access-date=June 27, 2020|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815060609/http://hboguides.com/guides/1974/1974-11.html|archive-date=August 15, 2018}}</ref> HBO's inaugural program and event telecast, a [[National Hockey League]] (NHL) game between the [[New York Rangers]] and the [[Vancouver Canucks]] from [[Madison Square Garden]],<ref name="nyt-sterlingmsgdeal" /> was transmitted that evening over channel 21—its original assigned channel on the Teleservice system—to its initial base of 365 subscribers in Wilkes-Barre.<ref>{{cite news|title=HBO Started 20 Years Ago in Wilkes-Barre|url=https://apnews.com/7234e60624a3ac1b2c33c4fb690dc235|author=Kelly P. Kissel|work=Associated Press|date=November 9, 1992|access-date=July 22, 2020}}</ref> The first movie presentation shown on the service aired immediately after the hockey game concluded: the 1971 film ''[[Sometimes a Great Notion (film)|Sometimes a Great Notion]]'', starring [[Paul Newman]] and [[Henry Fonda]].<ref name="newspapers-hbodebut"/><ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite magazine|title=HBO Soundtrack: Home Box Office 5 Years|url=http://hboguides.com/guides/1977/1977-11.html|periodical=HBO on Air|publisher=Home Box Office, Inc.|via=The HBO Guide Archive|date=November 1977|access-date=June 28, 2020|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180602095411/http://hboguides.com/guides/1977/1977-11.html|archive-date=June 2, 2018}}</ref><ref name="psu-hbo"/><ref>{{cite magazine |title=And the winner is. |periodical=Broadcasting |publisher=Broadcasting Publications, Inc. |page=11 |date=April 30, 1984}}</ref>

== Channels ==

===Background===
To reduce subscriber [[churn rate|churn]] by offering extra programming choices to subscribers, on May 8, 1991, Home Box Office Inc. announced plans to launch two additional channels of HBO and Cinemax, becoming the first subscription television services to launch "[[multiplex (television)|multiplexed]]" companion channels (a term coined by then-CEO Michael Fuchs to equate the programming choices that would be provided to subscribers of the channel tier to that offered by [[Multiplex (movie theater)|multi-screen movie theaters]]), each available at no extra charge to subscribers of one or both networks. (The three prior premium services that HBO launched between 1979 and 1987, Cinemax and the now-defunct Take 2 and Festival, were developed as standalone services that could be purchased separately from and optionally packaged with HBO.) On August 1, 1991, through a test launch of the three channels over those systems, TeleCable customers in [[Overland Park, Kansas]]; [[Racine, Wisconsin]]; and suburban [[Dallas]] ([[Richardson, Texas|Richardson]] and [[Plano, Texas]]) that subscribed to either service began receiving two additional HBO channels or a secondary channel of Cinemax. HBO2 (later renamed HBO Plus, then reverted to its original name), HBO3 (now HBO Signature), and Cinemax 2 (now MoreMax) each offered distinct schedules of programs culled from HBO and Cinemax's movie and original programming libraries separate from offerings shown concurrently on their respective parent primary channels. (Cinemax was originally scheduled to launch a tertiary channel, Cinemax 3, on November 1, 1991, but these plans were shelved until 1996.)<ref>{{cite news|title=THE MEDIA BUSINESS; HBO Planning to Add New Movie Channels|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/09/business/the-media-business-hbo-planning-to-add-new-movie-channels.html|author=Bill Carter|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|date=May 9, 1991|access-date=February 8, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=HBO, Cinemax to Split Services into Three Channels Each |periodical=Broadcasting |page=33 |date=May 13, 1991}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=HBO Releases Multiplex Schedule |periodical=Broadcasting |page=40 |date=August 5, 1991}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=HBO: three channels are better than one|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-10807607.html|author=Jane Greenstein|periodical=Multichannel News|date=May 13, 1991|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511211758/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-10807607.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 11, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=HBO TO PACK IN MORE PROGRAMMING|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1991-05-09-9102110030-story.html|author=Kenneth R. Clark|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=May 9, 1991|access-date=May 15, 2020}}</ref> While most cable providers collectively offered the HBO and Cinemax multiplex channels in individual tiers, some providers had sold their secondary or tertiary channels as optional add-ons to expanded basic subscribers; this practice was discontinued when HBO and Cinemax began migrating to [[digital cable]] in the early 2000s, as the respective multiplex channels were being packaged in each tier mandatorily.

In February 1996, in anticipation of the adoption of [[MPEG-2]] digital compression codecs that would allow cable providers to offer digital cable service, Home Box Office, Inc. announced plans to expand its multiplex services across HBO and Cinemax to twelve channels (counting [[time zone]]-based feeds), encompassing a fourth HBO channel and two additional Cinemax channels, originally projected for a Spring 1997 launch.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=HBO divides to conquer |author=Rich Brown |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable |page=49 |date=February 5, 1996}}<br />{{cite magazine |title=HBO divides to conquer |author=Rich Brown |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable |page=50 |date=February 5, 1996}}</ref> The HBO multiplex expanded to include a fourth channel on December 1, 1996, with the launch of HBO Family, focusing on family-oriented feature films and television series aimed at younger children. (HBO Family's launch coincided with the launch of [[Mountain Time Zone]] feeds of HBO, HBO2, Cinemax, and Cinemax 2, which were the first sub-feeds ever offered by a subscription television service to specifically serve that time zone.)<ref name="HBO Family" /><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Pay services add value with multiplexing |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable |page=70 |date=September 30, 1996}}</ref>

Home Box Office, Inc. began marketing the HBO channel suite and related coastal feeds under the umbrella brand "MultiChannel HBO" in September 1994; the package was [[rebranding|rebranded]] as "HBO The Works", now exclusively classified to the four HBO multiplex channels (and later applied to the three thematic channels that were launched afterward), in April 1998. (The Cinemax tier was accordingly marketed as "MultiChannel Cinemax" and then "MultiMax" at the respective times.) Concurrent with the adoption of "The Works" package brand, two of the channels changed their names and formats: HBO2 was rebranded as HBO Plus, and HBO3 was relaunched as HBO Signature—incorporating content catering toward a female audience, alongside theatrical films aimed at broader audiences and content from HBO's original made-for-cable movie and documentary libraries. (HBO Plus would revert to the "HBO2" moniker in September 2002. The "HBO Plus" brand—modified in 2019 to "HBO+"—{{as of|2021|alt=remains in use}} on a multiplex channel of [[HBO Latin America]] featuring mainly theatrical movies previously carried on its parent feed; HBO Latin America also operates a separate channel sharing the "HBO2" name with the shared U.S. namesake of both services.)<ref name="HBO digital networks">{{cite magazine |title=HBO sets new digital networks |author=John M. Higgins |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable |page=12 |date=April 13, 1998 |author-link=John M. Higgins}} {{subscription required |date=March 2015}}</ref>

On May 6, 1999, the HBO multiplex expanded to include two new thematic channels: HBO Comedy—featuring comedic feature films, comedy series from HBO's original programming library, and recent and archived HBO comedy specials—and HBO Zone—aimed at young adults between the ages of 18 and 34, offering theatrical movies; comedy and alternative series, and documentaries from HBO's original programming library; and music videos.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Hooked Up: HBO courts Gen X with laughs |author=Nolan Marchand |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable |page=39 |date=May 3, 1999}}</ref> Rounding out the HBO multiplex expansion was HBO Latino, a Spanish language network launched on November 1, 2000, featuring a mix of dubbed simulcasts of programming from the primary HBO channel as well as exclusive Spanish-originated programs.<ref name="tw-hbolatinolaunch">{{cite press release|title=HBO to Launch New Spanish-Language Channel|url=https://www.warnermediagroup.com/newsroom/press-releases/2000/09/07/hbo-to-launch-new-spanish-language-channel|website=Time Warner|via=WarnerMedia Pressroom|date=September 7, 2000|access-date=June 30, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=HBO Latino Launch Is Pushed Back|url=https://www.multichannel.com/news/hbo-latino-launch-pushed-back-159061|periodical=Multichannel News|date=September 17, 2000|access-date=June 30, 2020}}</ref>

===List of HBO channels===
Depending on the service provider, HBO provides up to seven 24-hour multiplex channels—all of which are simulcast in both [[standard-definition television|standard definition]] and [[high-definition television|high definition]], and available as time zone-based regional feeds—as well as a [[video on demand|subscription video-on-demand]] service (HBO On Demand). Off-the-air maintenance periods of anywhere from a half-hour up to two hours occur at varied overnight/early morning time slots (usually preceding the 6:00&nbsp;a.m. ET/PT start of the defined broadcast day) once per month on each channel.

HBO transmits feeds of its primary and multiplex channels on both Eastern and Pacific Time Zone schedules. The respective coastal feeds of each channel are usually packaged together, resulting in the [[Effects of time zones on North American broadcasting|difference in local airtimes]] for a particular movie or program between two geographic locations being three hours at most; the opposite-region feed (i.e., the Pacific Time feeds in the Eastern and Central Time Zones, and the Eastern Time feeds in the Pacific, Mountain and [[Alaska Time Zone]]s) serves as a [[timeshift channel]], allowing viewers who may have missed a particular program at its original local airtime to watch it three hours after its initial airing or allowing them to watch a program up to four hours, depending on the applicable time zone, in advance of their local airtime on their corresponding primary coastal feed. (Most cable, satellite, and IPTV providers, as well as its Amazon Prime Video and Roku OTT channels, only offer the East and West Coast feeds of the main HBO channel; some conventional television providers may include coastal feeds of HBO2 in certain areas, while wider availability of coastal feeds for the other five multiplex channels is limited to subscribers of [[DirecTV]], [[YouTube TV]] and the [[Hulu]] live TV service.)

HBO maintains a separate feed for the [[Hawaii–Aleutian Time Zone]]—the only American cable-originated television network to offer a timeshift feed for Hawaii viewers—operating a three-hour-delayed version of the primary channel's Pacific Time feed for subscribers of [[Charter Spectrum|Oceanic Spectrum]], which otherwise transmits Pacific Time feeds for the six other HBO multiplex channels. (The state's other major cable provider, [[Hawaiian Telcom]], offers the Pacific Time Zone feed of all seven channels.)

{| class="wikitable" width="100%" style="text-align: center;"
|-
! Channel
! Description and programming
|-
| style="text-align:center; width:130pt;"|[[File:HBO logo.svg|125px]]<br />'''HBO''' || style="text-align: left;"|HBO, the [[Flagship (broadcasting)|flagship]] channel, airs first-run and blockbuster feature films, original series, and made-for-cable movies, sports-focused magazine and documentary series, comedy and occasional concert specials, and documentaries. (Newer episodes of the channel's original series are mainly shown on Sunday and Monday evenings as well as on Fridays during the late prime time and late-access periods.)

It also airs premieres of recent theatrical or new HBO original movies, marketed as the "HBO Movie Premiere", on selected Saturday nights (usually at 8:00&nbsp;p.m. Eastern Time). The main HBO channel mainly airs R-rated films after 5:00&nbsp;p.m. (or sometimes as early as 2:30&nbsp;p.m.) Eastern and Pacific, and TV-MA-rated programs (usually edited for daytime airings to limit scenes of graphic violence, excluding sexual content and nudity included in original versions shown on the main channel only at night) after 1:00&nbsp;p.m. ET/PT.
|-
| style="text-align: center; width:130pt;"|[[File: HBO 2 (2014).svg|125px]]<br />'''HBO2''' || style="text-align: left;"|HBO's secondary channel; HBO2 offers a separate schedule of theatrical and original made-for-cable movies (including daytime airings of R-rated films that the main HBO channel is usually restricted from airing in the morning, early- and mid-afternoon hours), series and specials, as well as same-week, rebroadcasts of newer films, and recent episodes and occasional complete-season "catch-up" [[marathon (media)|marathons]] of original series first aired on the primary HBO channel.
 
Launched on August 1, 1991, HBO2 originally used a channel-specific version of the main HBO channel's then-current on-air look; by 1993, this was replaced with a spartan "program grid" layout during promotional breaks, similar to the visual appearance then used by the [[History of Pop (American TV channel)|Prevue Channel]] (and subsequently applied by HBO 3 [now HBO Signature], Cinemax 2 [now MoreMax] and Cinemax 3 [now ActionMax]). The channel was rebranded as '''HBO Plus''' on October 1, 1998, concurrently adopting a distinct on-air look from the primary channel.<ref name="man-premiums">{{cite web|title=Premium Nets: More Screens Mean More Value|url=https://www.multichannel.com/news/premium-nets-more-screens-mean-more-value-156907|author=Ray Richmond|periodical=Multichannel News|date=December 6, 1998|access-date=May 13, 2020}}</ref> Since reversing the "HBO2" brand in September 2002, the channel has used minor variations of the main HBO channel's on-air identity.
|-
| style="text-align: center; width:130pt;"|[[File: HBO Comedy (2014).svg|125px]]<br />'''HBO Comedy''' || style="text-align: left;"|Launched on May 6, 1999,<ref name="HBO Laughs">{{cite web|title=HBO courts Gen X with laughs|url=http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/1888985/hbo-courts-gen-x-laughs|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230232700/http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/1888985/hbo-courts-gen-x-laughs|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 30, 2013|author=Nolan Marchand|periodical=Broadcasting & Cable|via=EBSCO|date=May 3, 1999|access-date=March 11, 2013}}</ref> HBO Comedy features comedic films, as well as rebroadcasts of HBO's original comedy series and stand-up specials; although the channel broadcasts R-rated films during the daytime hours, HBO Comedy only airs adult comedy specials at night.
|-
| style="text-align: center; width:130pt;"|[[File: HBO Family (2014).svg|125px]]<br />'''HBO Family''' || style="text-align: left;"|Launched on December 1, 1996,<ref name="HBO Family">{{cite news|title=Channel's Success Breeds Suitors, Imitators While Tim Robertson Has Helped Turn Family Values into Big Business, His Family Connections Are Impeding His Ambitious Plans|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-73151944.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130508070918/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-73151944.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 8, 2013|author=Mark Robichaux|newspaper=[[The Virginian-Pilot]]|date=September 1, 1996}}</ref> HBO Family features movies and series aimed at children, as well as feature films intended for a broader family audience. A [[block programming|block]] of children's series aimed at the 2–11 age demographic, "[[HBO Kids]]" (formerly known as "Jam" from August 2001 to January 2016), consisting of programs rated TV-Y and TV-Y7, was also offered weekdays from 6:00 to (approximately) 8:00&nbsp;a.m.; movies and family-oriented original specials occupy the remainder of the channel's daily schedule.<ref>'' HBO Family'' channel on-air</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=HBO Family Schedule: Grid View|url=http://www.hbofamily.com/apps/schedule/ScheduleServlet|website=HBO Family|publisher=Home Box Office, Inc.|date=September 11, 2001|access-date=October 5, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016035343/http://www.hbofamily.com/apps/schedule/ScheduleServlet|archive-date=October 16, 2012}}</ref> Movie presentations on HBO Family are restricted to encompass films rated G, PG, or PG-13 (or the [[TV Parental Guidelines|equivalent]] TV-G, TV-PG, or TV-14), and as such, it is the only HBO channel that does not air R, NC-17, or TV-MA rated program content. Originally intended as a secondary service for HBO's family-oriented programming, HBO Family assumed exclusivity over the children's programs (which formerly aired in a daily morning block on the main channel) and family-oriented specials (previously shown on HBO in late afternoon or early evening timeslots) when HBO stopped running these programs on its primary channel in 2001. HBO currently offers no children's programming on its main channel, since WarnerMedia's shift of the production contract to HBO Max resulted in the July 2020 discontinuance of a Saturday morning block of series produced by Sesame Workshop added to the primary channel in 2017. On June 11, 2025, HBO announced the shutdown of HBO Family on August 15, 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schneider |first=Michael |date=2025-06-13 |title=HBO Family, ThrillerMax and Other Multiplex Channels to Be Shut Down by Warner Bros. Discovery |url=https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/hbo-family-channels-shut-down-warner-bros-discovery-1236430009/ |access-date=2025-06-13 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bouma |first=Luke |date=2025-06-11 |title=HBO Is Shutting Down Multiple Channels Including HBO Family & More |url=https://cordcuttersnews.com/hbo-is-shutting-down-multiple-channels-including-hbo-family-more/ |access-date=2025-06-13 |website=Cord Cutters News |language=en-US}}</ref>
|-
| style="text-align: center; width:130pt;"|[[File: HBO Latino (2014).svg|125px]]<br />'''HBO Latino''' || style="text-align: left;"|Launched on November 1, 2000 (although originally slated to debut on September 18 of that year),<ref name="tw-hbolatinolaunch"/><ref>{{cite news|title=HBO Latino set to debut on Monday|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4559692.html|newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|date=September 15, 2000|access-date=March 2, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507082535/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4559692.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 7, 2013}}</ref> HBO Latino offers programming catering to [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic and Latino American]] audiences, including HBO original productions, Spanish and Portuguese series sourced from HBO Latin America, dubbed versions of American theatrical releases, and domestic and imported Spanish-language films. Outside of breakaways for exclusive original and acquired programs, and separate promotional advertising between programs, HBO Latino largely acts as a de facto Spanish language simulcast of the primary HBO channel. (All other HBO multiplex channels provide alternate Spanish audio tracks of most of their programming via second audio program feeds.) HBO Latino is the indirect successor to HBO en Español (originally named Selecciones en Español de HBO y Cinemax), which launched in 1989.
|-
| style="text-align: center; width:130pt;"|[[File: HBO Signature (2014).svg|125px]]<br />'''HBO Signature''' || style="text-align: left;"|HBO Signature features high-quality films, HBO original series, and specials. Launched on August 1, 1991, the channel was originally known as "'''HBO 3'''" until September 30, 1998, maintaining a genericized format similar to HBO and HBO2; it rebranded as HBO Signature the following day (October 1), when its programming shifted focus around movies, series and specials targeted at a female audience and retransmits HBO productions.<ref name="man-premiums"/><ref name="HBO digital networks"/>
|-
| style="text-align: center; width:130pt;"|[[File: HBO Zone (2014).svg|125px]]<br />'''HBO Zone''' || style="text-align: left;"|Launched on May 6, 1999,<ref name="HBO Laughs"/> HBO Zone airs movies and HBO original programs aimed at young adults between the ages of 18 and 34. Until Home Box Office, Inc. removed sister network Cinemax's [[Cinemax#Max After Dark|Max After Dark]] adult programming block and all associated programming from its other television and streaming platforms in 2018, HBO Zone also carried [[softcore pornography|softcore pornographic]] films acquired for the Cinemax block in late-night, dependent on their inclusion on each day's program schedule; as such, it is the only HBO channel that has aired adult-oriented pornographic movies on its regular schedule.<ref name="wrap-hbodropsadultprog">{{cite web|title=No More 'Taxicab Confessions': HBO Removes All of Its Adult Entertainment Programming|url=https://www.thewrap.com/hbo-quietly-removed-all-of-its-adult-entertainment/|author=Tim Baysinger|website=[[TheWrap]]|date=August 28, 2018|access-date=May 13, 2020}}</ref>
|}

===Current sister channels===
====Cinemax====
{{main|Cinemax}}
[[File:Cinemax 2016.svg|thumb|Cinemax logo]]
Cinemax is an American pay television network owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Originally developed as a companion service to HBO, the channel's programming consists of recent and some older theatrically released feature films, original [[action fiction|action drama]] series, documentaries, and special [[wikt: behind the scenes|behind-the-scenes]] featurettes. While Cinemax and HBO operate as separate premium services, their respective channel tiers are very frequently sold as a combined package by many multichannel television providers; however, customers have the option of subscribing to HBO and Cinemax's corresponding channel packages individually.

On August 1, 1980, HBO launched Cinemax, a companion movie-based premium channel created as a direct competitor to two existing movie-focused premium channels: [[The Movie Channel]], then a smaller, standalone pay movie service owned by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment (then part-owned by Warner Bros. Discovery predecessor Warner Communications), and [[Home Theater Network]] (HTN), a now-defunct service owned by [[Westinghouse Broadcasting|Group W Satellite Communications]] that focused on G- and PG-rated films.<ref>{{cite news|title=2d Cable Movie Service From Home Box Office|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1980/07/31/archives/2d-cable-movie-service-from-home-box-office.html|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|date=July 31, 1980|access-date=March 29, 2009}}</ref> Cinemax succeeded in its early years partly because it relied on classic movie releases from the 1950s to the 1970s—with some more recent films mixed into its schedule—that it presented uncut and without commercial interruption, at a time when limited [[cable television headend|headend]] channel capacity resulted in cable subscribers only being able to receive as many as three dozen channels (up to half of which were reserved for local and out-of-market broadcast stations, and public access channels). In most cases, cable operators tended to sell Cinemax and HBO as a singular premium bundle, usually offered at a discount for customers that decided to subscribe to both channels. Cinemax, unlike HBO, also maintained a 24-hour schedule from its launch, one of the first pay cable services to transmit around the clock.

Even early in its existence, Cinemax tried to diversify its programming beyond movies. Beginning in 1984, it incorporated music specials and some limited original programming (among them, ''[[Second City Television|SCTV Channel]]'' and ''[[Max Headroom (TV series)|Max Headroom]]'') into the channel's schedule. Around this time, Cinemax also began airing adult-oriented [[softcore pornography|softcore pornographic films and series]]—containing [[sexual intercourse|strong sexual content]] and nudity—in varying late-night timeslots (usually no earlier than 11:30&nbsp;p.m. Eastern and Pacific); this programming block, originally airing under the "Friday After Dark" banner (renamed "Max After Dark" in 2008 to better reflect its prior expansion to a nightly block), would become strongly associated with the channel among its subscribers and in [[pop culture]]. The channel began gradually scaling back its adult programming offerings in 2011, in an effort to shift focus towards its mainstream films and original programs, culminating in the removal of "Max After Dark" content from its linear and on-demand platforms in 2018, as part of a broader exit from the genre across Home Box Office, Inc.'s platforms.<ref>{{cite web|title=Little brother Cinemax gets extensive makeover|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-13619333.html|author=Rod Granger|periodical=Multichannel News|date=November 2, 1992|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105130753/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-13619333.html|archive-date=November 5, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Skinemax">{{cite news|title=HBO's stealth plan to kill off 'Skinemax'|url=http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/tv/guns_poses_05H3v5lnOgLrvPyjcJWoGL|author=Michael Shain|newspaper=[[New York Post]]|date=February 14, 2011}}</ref><ref name="wrap-hbodropsadultprog"/> In terms of mainstream programming, Cinemax began premiering original action series in the early 2010s, beginning with the August 2011 debut of ''[[Strike Back (TV series)|Strike Back]]'' (which has since become the channel's longest-running original program). As a consequence of WarnerMedia reallocating its programming resources toward the HBO Max streaming service, Cinemax eliminated scripted programming after the last of its remaining slate of action series ended in early 2021, shifting the channel back to its original structure as a movie-exclusive premium service.<ref name="Skinemax"/>

The linear Cinemax multiplex service, {{As of|2021|lc=y}}, consists of the primary feed and seven thematic channels: MoreMax (launched in April 1991 as Cinemax 2, in conjunction with HBO2's rollout); ActionMax (originally launched as Cinemax 3 in 1995); ThrillerMax (launched in 1998);<ref name="HBO digital networks"/> MovieMax (originally launched as the female-targeted WMax in May 2001); Cinemáx (a Spanish language simulcast feed, which originally launched as the young adult-focused @Max in 2001), 5StarMax (launched in May 2001) and OuterMax (launched in May 2001).<ref>{{cite web|title=Cinemax Branches Out with Four Plexes|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-69279493.html|author=Linda Moss|periodical=Multichannel News|date=January 15, 2001|access-date=March 13, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611030159/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-69279493.html|archive-date=June 11, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release|title=Rebrand Advisory|url=http://www.homeboxoffice.com/to/Recently_Updated/Rebrand_Advisory.pdf|publisher=Home Box Office, Inc.|date=May 23, 2013|access-date=March 23, 2015|archive-date=April 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402092140/http://www.homeboxoffice.com/to/Recently_Updated/Rebrand_Advisory.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Cinemax changing @MAX to Spanish-language MAX Latino|url=http://hd-report.com/2013/05/24/cinemax-changing-max-to-spanish-language-max-latino/|website=HD Report|date=May 24, 2013}}</ref>

{{Infobox television channel
| name = Take 2
| logo =
| launch_date = {{Start date and age|1979|04|01}}
| closed_date = {{Start date and age|1981|01|31}}
| owner = Home Box Office, Inc.<br />([[Time-Life]]/[[Time Inc.]])
| language = English
| area = Nationwide<br />(in select markets)
}}

=== Former sister channels ===
* Take 2 (informally referred to as "HBO Take 2") was an American premium cable television network that was owned by Home Box Office, Inc., then a subsidiary of the Time-Life division of Time Inc., and which operated from April 1979 to January 1981. Marketed to a family audience and the first attempt at a companion pay service by the corporate HBO entity, the channel's programming consisted of recent and older theatrically released motion pictures. Take 2 was the first of three efforts by HBO to maintain a family-oriented pay service, predating the similarly formatted and short-lived mini-pay service Festival (launched in 1986) and the present-day multiplex channel HBO Family (launched in 1996). On September 21, 1978, Home Box Office Inc. announced it would launch a family-oriented companion "mini-pay" premium service (a channel marketed as a lower-priced pay add-on to cable operators, often sold in a tier with co-owned or competing premium services), which would be transmitted via a fourth Satcom I transponder leased to HBO.<ref name="b&c-take2">{{cite magazine |title=In Brief |periodical=Broadcasting |page=10 |date=September 25, 1978}}</ref> Originally planned to launch around January 1, Take 2 launched on April 1, 1979; developed at the request of HBO's affiliate cable providers to meet consumer demand for an additional pay television offering, Take 2 was designed to cater to family audiences and, like HBO's later family programming services (Festival and HBO Family), structured its theatrical inventory to exclude R-rated films. The service's format was intended to cater to prospective customers who were reluctant to pay for an HBO subscription because of its cost and the potentially objectionable content in some of its programming.<ref name="b&c-take2" /> The network maintained distinct showcase blocks that aired at various times throughout its schedule: "''Movie of the Week''" (a weekly prime-time presentation of network-premiere theatrical films), "''Center Stage''" (featuring movies and specials with leading entertainers), "''Family Theater''" (a showcase of G-rated films for family viewing), "''Passport''" (an anthology block featuring programs ranging from "popular entertainment to cultural events") and "''Merry-Go-Round''" (a showcase of children's movies, specials, and short films). G- and PG-rated movies shown on Take 2 usually made their debut on the service no less than 60 days after their initial telecast on HBO.<ref name="Movie Duels" /><ref name="b&c-take2" /> Slow subscriber growth and difficulties leveraging HBO's increasingly wide cable carriage to ensure supportable distribution forced the shutdown of Take 2 on January 31, 1981.<ref name="Movie Duels" /> At the time of its shutdown, HBO was already placing resources to grow its secondary, lower-cost "maxi-pay" service, Cinemax, which launched in August 1980 and, in its first four years of operation, experienced comparatively greater success than Take 2 did in its briefer existence with its mix of recent and older movies (including unedited, commercial-free broadcasts of movies released during the [[Classical Hollywood cinema|"Golden Age" of Hollywood film]]). (Cinemax replaced Take 2 as an add-on to HBO on many cable systems that carried the latter.)[[File:hbosfestival.png|200px|right|Festival logo]]
* [[Festival (TV channel)|Festival]] was an American premium cable television network that was owned by Home Box Office, Inc., then a subsidiary of Time Inc., which operated from 1986 to 1988. The channel's programming consisted of uncut and [[Re-edited film|re-edited]] versions of recent and older theatrically released motion pictures, along with original music, comedy, and [[nature]] specials sourced from the parent HBO channel aimed at a family audience. On April 1, 1986, HBO began test-marketing Festival on six cable systems owned by then-sister company American Television and Communications Corporation.<ref name="nyt-festival">{{cite news|title=HBO TO TEST A NEW SERVICE, FESTIVAL|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/02/13/arts/hbo-to-test-a-new-service-festival.html|author=Thomas Morgan|newspaper=The New York Times|date=February 13, 1986|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref><ref name="Festival program guide 1987">{{citation|title=Festival program guide|publisher=Home Box Office, Inc.|year=1987}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Burgeoning world of cable programing |periodical=Broadcasting |page=10 |date=June 16, 1986}}<br />{{cite magazine |title=Burgeoning world of cable programing |periodical=Broadcasting |page=11 |date=June 16, 1986}}</ref><ref name="b&c-festivallaunch">{{cite magazine |title=Cablecastings: Festival expansion |periodical=Broadcasting |page=10 |date=April 7, 1986}}</ref> It was aimed at older audiences who objected to programming containing violence and sexual situations on other premium services, television viewers that did not already have cable service, and basic cable subscribers with no existing subscription to a premium service, focusing classic and recent hit movies, documentaries, and HBO's original stand-up comedy, concert, nature and [[ice skating]] specials. Notably for a premium service, Festival aired re-edited R-rated movies intended to fit a PG rating.<ref name="festival-011988">{{citation|title=Festival program guide|publisher=Home Box Office Inc.|page=Front cover|date=January 1988}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=HBO Launching Service To Attract Older Audience|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1986-02-17/features/8601100851_1_hbo-festival-new-channel|author=Thomas Morgan|newspaper=[[Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel]]|date=February 17, 1986|access-date=October 12, 2012|archive-date=May 27, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527091253/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1986-02-17/features/8601100851_1_hbo-festival-new-channel|url-status=dead}}</ref> Festival ceased operations on December 31, 1988; Home Box Office, Inc. cited the inability to expand distribution because of channel capacity limitations at most cable company headends for the closure of the channel. At the time of its shutdown, Festival had an estimated 30,000 subscribers, far below HBO's reach of 15.9&nbsp; million subscribers and a distant last place in subscriber count among the eight American premium cable services in operation at the time.<ref name="HBO Expanding the Brand" /><ref name="Festival program guide 1987" /><ref>{{cite magazine |title=HBO changes marketing plan for Festival |periodical=Broadcasting |date=June 20, 1988}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=The Cable Network Programming Universe |periodical=Broadcasting |page=41 |date=May 30, 1988}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=HBO's Festival to go dark |periodical=Broadcasting |page=61 |date=July 18, 1988}}</ref>
* Selecciones en Español de HBO y Cinemax (later renamed HBO en Español in September 1993) was an American Spanish language premium cable television service that was owned by Home Box Office, Inc., then a subsidiary of Time Warner, which operated from 1989 to 2000. The service's programming consisted of Spanish-dubbed versions of recent and older theatrically released motion pictures, and select HBO original and event programming aimed at a Hispanic and Latino audience. The service is a predecessor to HBO Latino, which replaced HBO en Español in November 2000. On January 2, 1989, Selecciones en Español de HBO y Cinemax ("''Spanish Selections from HBO and Cinemax''"), a Spanish-language audio feed transmitted through, depending on the cable system affiliate, either an auxiliary [[second audio program]] channel (accessible through built-in and external multichannel audio decoders) or [[Cable radio|audio simulcasts via FM radio]], launched. The service—which initially launched on 20 cable systems in [[media market|markets]] with significant Hispanic and Latino populations, and aimed specifically at Spanish-dominant and first-language Spanish speakers—<ref>{{cite news|title=HBO-Cinemax Experiment in Bilingual TV|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-05-01-ca-2337-story.html|author=Victor Valle|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=May 1, 1989|access-date=June 30, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Cablecastings: Second language |periodical=Broadcasting |page=76 |date=September 19, 1988}}</ref><ref name="HBO Expanding the Brand">{{cite web|title=It's Not TV: HBO, The Company That Changed Television: Expanding The Brand (Part 1)|url=http://www.soundonsight.org/its-not-tv-hbo-the-company-that-changed-television-expanding-the-brand-part-1/|author=Bill Mesce|work=Sound on Sight|date=November 6, 2013|access-date=February 1, 2014|archive-date=February 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202215756/http://www.soundonsight.org/its-not-tv-hbo-the-company-that-changed-television-expanding-the-brand-part-1/|url-status=dead}}</ref> originally provided Spanish-dubbed versions of recent feature film releases from HBO and Cinemax's movie suppliers. By that Spring, Selecciones's offerings expanded to include Spanish audio simulcasts of HBO's live boxing matches (except for certain events broadcast exclusively in Spanish on networks such as [[Galavisión (USA)|Galavisión]]). Selecciones en Español de HBO y Cinemax—replaced by two dedicated channel feeds, HBO en Español and Cinemax en Español, on September 27, 1993, effectively acting as part-time simulcast feeds with added first-run Spanish-language movies (mostly from Mexico, [[Argentina]] and Spain), and Spanish dubs of HBO's non-sports-event original programming—quickly gained interest from providers, expanding to an additional 35 cable systems in various U.S. markets in the weeks following its debut.<ref name="HBO Expanding the Brand" /><ref>{{cite magazine |title=HBO to offer Spanish version |author=Rich Brown |periodical=Broadcasting |page=19 |date=May 31, 1993}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=More choices for cable subscribers |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable |page=32 |date=October 4, 1993}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=HBO reaches out to Hispanics; Home Box Office, Inc. forms HBO En Espanol|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-14041790.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511211754/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-14041790.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 11, 2011|author=Kim Mitchell|periodical=Multichannel News|date=May 31, 1993|access-date=February 23, 2011}}</ref>

===Other services===
====HBO HD====
[[File:HBO HD.png|right|220x220px]]
HBO HD (originally called HBO HDTV from March 1999 until April 2006) is a [[High-definition television|high definition]] simulcast feed of HBO that broadcasts in the [[1080i]] resolution format.<ref name="hbohd">{{cite web|title=HBO: About: Frequently Asked Questions: HBO HD|url=http://www.hbo.com/about/faqs/products/hbo-hd.html|website=HBO|publisher=Home Box Office, Inc. (Time Warner)|access-date=April 3, 2016}}</ref> HBO maintains high definition simulcast feeds of its main channel and all six multiplex channels. HBO HD is available on all major cable television providers including, among others, Charter Communications (including systems once owned by former HBO sister company Time Warner Cable); Comcast Xfinity (which, in 2016, began downconverting HBO, Cinemax and other cable channels transmitting in 1080i to [[720p]]60);<ref>{{cite web|title=1080i Channels are Being Changed to 720p60 Channels|url=http://forums.xfinity.com/t5/Non-X1-Service/1080i-channels-are-being-changed-to-720p60-channels/m-p/2783308#M183323|access-date=April 1, 2018|archive-date=December 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171217014057/http://forums.xfinity.com/t5/Non-X1-Service/1080i-channels-are-being-changed-to-720p60-channels/m-p/2783308#M183323|url-status=dead}}</ref> Cox Communications and [[Optimum]]; as well as [[DirecTV]]; [[AT&T U-verse]]; and [[Verizon FiOS]]. From the 2008 rollout of HD simulcasts for the HBO multiplex feeds until the mid-2010s, the majority of pay television providers that carried HBO HD generally offered only the main channel in high definition, with HD carriage of the multiplex channels varying by market. {{As of|2020}}, most providers transmit all seven HBO multiplex channels in HD, either on a dedicated HD channel tier separate from their SD assignments or as hybrid SD/HD feeds.

Home Box Office, Inc. announced plans to launch a high-definition simulcast feed on June 12, 1997, with initial plans for a rollout to television providers as early as the Summer of 1998, when electronics manufacturers planned to begin retailing their initial line of HD-capable television sets.<ref name="vty-hbohdsetslaunch">{{cite web|title=HBO plans high-def startup by 1998|url=https://variety.com/1997/tv/news/hbo-plans-high-def-startup-by-1998-1116680165/|author=John Dempsey|periodical=Variety|date=June 12, 1997|access-date=May 11, 2020}}</ref> HBO began transmitting a high definition simulcast feed on March 6, 1999, becoming the first American cable television network to begin simulcast their programming in the format. For the first 23 months of its existence, the HD feed only transmitted theatrical films from the network's programming suppliers (initially accounting for about 45% of its available feature film output, expanding to around 60% by early 2001) and HBO's in-house original movies in the format, as existing widescreen prints of those films were already scalable in the 16:9 widescreen [[Aspect ratio (image)|aspect ratio]] and could readily be upconverted to HD resolution.<ref name="vty-hbohdsetslaunch"/><ref name="HBO HD">{{cite web|title=HBO ready to go with HDTV|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-53675563.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130508063136/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-53675563.html|periodical=Broadcasting & Cable|date=January 25, 1999|access-date=March 2, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 8, 2013}}</ref>

Original programming began to be made available in HD on January 14, 2001, when the network commenced a 13-week Sunday "encore" presentation of the second season of ''[[The Sopranos]]'' in remastered 1080i HD. (HBO had been requiring the producers of its original series to film their episodes in widescreen—subsequently downconverted for the standard definition feed—to fit [[Aspect ratio (image)#4:3 stamdard|4:3]] television screens since 1996, to future-proof them for remastering in HD.) The third-season premiere of the mob drama, "[[Mr. Ruggerio's Neighborhood]]", on March 4 was the first first-run episode of an HBO series to be transmitted in high-definition from its initial telecast, with all subsequent episodes being delivered to HBO exclusively on HD videotape (and downconverted for the main standard-definition feed). Bob Zitter, then the network's Senior Vice President of Technology Operations, disclosed to ''[[Multichannel News]]'' in January 2001 that HBO elected to delay offering its original series in high definition until there was both sustainable consumer penetration of high-definition television sets and wide accessibility of HDTV equipment on the retail market.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Sopranos Hit Hi-Def|url=https://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/sopranos-hit-hi-def-95869|periodical=Broadcasting & Cable|date=January 7, 2001|access-date=May 11, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=HBOs Sopranos Goes High-Definition|url=https://www.multichannel.com/news/hbos-sopranos-goes-high-definition-133506|author=Monica Hogan|periodical=Multichannel News|date=January 7, 2001|access-date=May 11, 2020}}</ref> Sports telecasts were upgraded to HD on September 25, 2004, with an ''HBO World Championship Boxing'' fight card headlined by [[Roy Jones Jr.]] and [[Glen Johnson (boxer)|Glen Johnson]].<ref>{{cite web|title=HBO Going All-HD for Boxing|url=https://www.multichannel.com/news/hbo-going-all-hd-boxing-337708|author=R. Thomas Umstead|periodical=Multichannel News|date=September 12, 2004|access-date=May 11, 2020}}</ref> HD programming can also be broadcast in [[Dolby Digital|Dolby Digital 5.1]]. The network began transmitting its six multiplex channels in high definition on September 1, 2008, when DirecTV began offering HD simulcast feeds of HBO2, HBO Family, HBO Signature, and HBO Latino.<ref>{{cite web|title=All HBO, Cinemax channels to be in HD|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/all-hbo-cinemax-channels-be-138691|author=Kimberly Nordyke|agency=Associated Press| periodical=The Hollywood Reporter|date=June 13, 2007|access-date=May 12, 2020}}</ref>

====HBO on Demand====
HBO on Demand is HBO's companion [[video on demand|subscription video-on-demand]] (SVOD) service that is available at no additional cost to subscribers of the linear television service, who regularly pay a premium fee to pay television providers to receive access to the channel. VOD content from the network is also available on select virtual MVPD services (including [[DirecTV Stream]], [[YouTube TV]] and [[Hulu]]), and through HBO's dedicated [[Roku#The Roku Channel|Roku]] video channel. HBO on Demand offers theatrical feature films from HBO's distribution partners and original programming previously seen on the network (including weekly series, documentaries, sports magazine and documentary programs, and concert and stand-up comedy specials). The service's rotating program selection incorporates newer film titles and episodes that are added to the platform following their debut on the linear feed, as well as library content (including complete seasons of the network's past and present original programs).<ref>{{cite book|title=The Television Will Be Revolutionized|author=Amanda D. Lotz|publisher=New York University Press|location=New York City|page=132|year=2007|author-link=Amanda D. Lotz}}</ref>

HBO on Demand, the first SVOD service to be offered by an American premium service, launched on July 1, 2001, over then sister company Time Warner Cable's [[Columbia, South Carolina]], system.<ref name="HBO On Demand">{{cite news|title=Time Warner to Add HBO Video-On-Demand to Digital Cable in Columbia, South Carolina|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-75710982.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507135455/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-75710982.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 7, 2013|agency=Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News|date=June 21, 2001|access-date=March 4, 2013}}</ref> The service was developed to allow HBO subscribers access to the channel's programming at their choosing, thereby reducing the frequency in which viewers were unable to find a program they prefer to watch and limiting cancellations to the service because of that issue. On January 3, 2011, HBO became the first pay television network to offer VOD content in [[3DTV|3D]]; initially available to linear HBO subscribers signed with Time Warner Cable, Comcast, and Verizon FiOS, 3D content consisted of theatrical feature films available in the format.<ref>{{cite web|title=HBO Pops Cork on 3D Video-On-Demand|url=http://www.multichannel.com/news/cable-operators/hbo-pops-cork-3d-video-demand/328081|author=Todd Spangler|periodical=Multichannel News|date=January 3, 2011}}</ref>

In the United Kingdom, a domestic version of HBO on Demand was launched in 2015 to subscribers of [[IPTV]] provider [[TalkTalk TV]], which provides HBO's program offerings through the provider's [[YouView]] set-top boxes via a standalone VOD subscription.{{Citation needed|date=January 2018}}

====HBO Go====
{{Main|HBO Go}}
[[File:HBOGO.svg|HBO Go logo|right|220x220px]]
HBO Go is an international [[TV Everywhere]] streaming service for broadband subscribers of the linear HBO television service.

Content available on HBO Go, available on most operating systems, included theatrically released films (sourced from the network's pay television contractual windows for recent studio releases and from library content agreements with film distributors) and HBO original programming (including scripted series, made-for-cable movies, comedy specials, documentaries, and sports documentary and magazine programs).<ref>{{cite web|title=Eyes-on with HBO GO|url=http://hd.engadget.com/2010/02/17/eyes-on-with-hbo-go/|author=Ben Drawbaugh|website=[[Engadget]] |date=February 17, 2010|access-date=October 5, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120925090432/http://hd.engadget.com/2010/02/17/eyes-on-with-hbo-go/|archive-date=September 25, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> HBO Go, along with companion service HBO Now and HBO Max, did not provide live simulcasts of the seven linear HBO channels. (HBO and Cinemax are the only American premium television services not to include live network feeds in their proprietary streaming VOD platforms.)

Based on the prototype HBO on Broadband service that was originally launched in January 2008 to linear HBO subscribers of Time Warner Cable's [[Green Bay, Wisconsin|Green Bay]] and [[Milwaukee|Milwaukee, Wisconsin]], systems, HBO Go launched nationwide on February 18, 2010, initially available to existing HBO subscribers signed with [[Verizon FiOS]].<ref>{{cite web|title=HBO GO heads to FiOS|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hbo-go-heads-fios-20758|author=Georg Szalai|periodical=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=February 17, 2010|access-date=October 5, 2012}}</ref> Initially carrying 1,000 hours of program content available for streaming in standard or high definition, the on-demand streaming service was conceived as a TV Everywhere platform marketed exclusively to existing subscribers of the linear HBO television service. (The HBO Go website and mobile apps, including its apps for streaming devices such as Roku and Apple TV, and some [[video game console]]s, required a password accompanying a linear HBO subscription by a participating television provider to access content on the service.)

On June 12, 2020, WarnerMedia announced that HBO Go's mobile and [[digital media player]] apps would be discontinued in the U.S. on July 31, as most traditional and virtual MVPDs have secured distribution deals for HBO Max. Those providers that have not yet made an HBO Max deal continue to allow customer access to HBO Go (mainly [[Altice USA]]'s brands, [[Mediacom]], smaller cable providers, and closed-circuit university television systems which had not had personnel available during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] to contractually transfer their credentials to HBO Max), though only through the HBO Go desktop website. The "HBO Go" moniker remains in use as the brand for HBO's streaming platforms in select Asian markets until it was also rebranded directly into [[Max (streaming service)|Max]] on November 19, 2024.<ref name="cnet-bookending">{{cite web|title=HBO is getting rid of HBO Go, renaming HBO Now since HBO Max is live|url=https://www.cnet.com/news/hbo-max-is-getting-rid-of-hbo-go-renaming-hbo-now-since-hbo-max-is-live/|author=Joan E. Solsman|website=CNET|publisher=CBS Interactive|date=June 12, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Maas |first=Jennifer |date=April 12, 2023 |title=Warner Bros. Discovery Unveils 'Max': Everything Revealed at Combined HBO Max-Discovery+ Streaming Presentation |url=https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/max-streaming-service-hbo-warner-discovery-1235579785/ |website=Variety |language=en-US |access-date=April 24, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Brzeski |first=Patrick |date=October 14, 2024 |title=Warner Bros. Discovery Confirms Max Launch in 7 Asian Markets in November |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/warner-bros-discovery-max-launch-date-7-asia-markets-1236032219/ |access-date=October 14, 2024 |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |language=en}}</ref>

====HBO Now====
{{main|HBO Now}}
[[File:HBONOW-logo.svg|thumb|Former HBO Now logo, used from April 7, 2015, until July 31, 2020.]]
HBO Now (formally named HBO from August to December 2020) was an [[Over-the-top media service]]  that provided on-demand access to HBO's library of original programming and theatrical films, and was marketed independent of a pay television subscription to the linear HBO service as a standalone platform targeting [[Cord-cutting|cord cutters]], available on most operating systems.<ref name=verge-hbonow>{{cite web|title=HBO Now coming in April for $14.99 per month, Apple TV price cut to $69|url=https://www.theverge.com/2015/3/9/8175619/hbo-now-announced|author=Chris Welch|website=[[The Verge]]|publisher=[[Vox Media]]|date=March 9, 2015|access-date=May 11, 2020}}</ref>

On October 15, 2014, HBO announced plans to launch an OTT subscription streaming service in 2015, which would be distributed as a standalone offering that does not require an existing television subscription to access the content.<ref>{{cite news|title=HBO to offer its programming over the Internet|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-hbo-time-warner-internet-online-program-20141016-story.html|author=Meg James|author2=Ryan Faughnder|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=October 16, 2014|access-date=October 16, 2014}}</ref><ref name="deadline-hbogoitalone">{{cite news|title=HBO To Launch Stand-Alone Online Service, Without Cable, In 2015: Time Warner Investor Day|url=https://deadline.com/2014/10/richard-plepler-time-warner-investor-day-hbo-ceo-presentation-851815/|author=David Lieberman|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|date=October 15, 2014|access-date=October 16, 2014}}</ref><ref name="atlantic-goitalone">{{cite magazine|title=HBO Go-It-Alone: There Goes the Cable Bundle?|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/10/hbo-go-it-alone-there-goes-the-cable-bundle/381489/|author=Derek Thompson|magazine=[[The Atlantic]]|date=October 15, 2014|access-date=October 16, 2014}}</ref>

HBO Now was unveiled on March 9, 2015, and launched on April 7, 2015.<ref name="verge-hbonow"/><ref name="verge-hbonow-launched">{{cite web|title=HBO Now launches on Apple TV|url=https://www.theverge.com/2015/4/7/8362229/hbo-now-available-now-apple-tv|author=Chris Welch|website=The Verge|date=April 7, 2015}}</ref><ref name="hbonow_launch">{{cite web|title='HBO Now' Goes Live|url=http://www.multichannel.com/news/tv-apps/hbo-now-goes-live/389517#sthash.gEGufCmc.dpuf|author=Jeff Baumgartner|periodical=Multichannel News|date=April 7, 2015}}</ref> The service was initially available via Apple Inc. to Apple TV and iOS devices for a three-month exclusivity period following its formal launch, before becoming available for subscription through other participating [[Internet service provider]]s.<ref name="verge-hbonow"/> Available for $15 per month, HBO Now was identical to the former HBO Go in terms of content and features. New episodes of the HBO series were made available for streaming on the initial airdate and usually uploaded at the normal airtime, of their original broadcast on the main linear HBO channel.<ref>{{cite news|title=Tech Test: There are plenty of options for HBO online, not enough time|url=http://www.columbian.com/news/2015/apr/26/there-are-plenty-of-options-for-hbo-online-not-eno/|author=Anick Jesdanun|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=[[The Columbian]]|date=April 26, 2015}}</ref> By February 2019, subscribership of HBO Now subscribers had reached over 8&nbsp; million customers.<ref>{{cite web|title=Number of HBO Now subscribers 2019|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/539290/hbo-now-subscribers/|website=Statista|access-date=February 26, 2020}}</ref> On June 12, 2020, WarnerMedia announced that HBO Now would be rebranded solely as HBO on August 1. Following HBO Max's launch, the HBO streaming service had served as the network's default OTT platform for Roku customers, as WarnerMedia has not yet signed deals to distribute HBO Max on that platform; until its replacement by HBO Max on those platforms in November 2020, it also served as a default HBO OTT service for Amazon Fire and Fire TV customers.<ref name="cnet-bookending"/> As a consequence of an agreement with WarnerMedia announced the day before offering HBO Max on Roku devices starting the following day, the HBO streaming service was discontinued on December 17, 2020.<ref name="wrap-hbomaxroku">{{cite web|title=HBO Max Finally Agrees to Deal With Roku Ahead of 'Wonder Woman 1984' Debut|url=https://www.thewrap.com/hbo-max-finally-agrees-to-deal-with-roku-ahead-of-wonder-woman-1984-debut/|author=Tim Baysinger|website=The Wrap|date=December 16, 2020}}</ref>

====HBO Max====
{{main|HBO Max}}
[[File:HBO Max logo (May 2025) (Black monochrome).svg|thumb|Max logo|alt=Max logo.svg]]
HBO Max is an over-the-top subscription streaming service operated by Warner Bros. Discovery Global Streaming and Interactive Entertainment built mainly around HBO's programming and other Warner Bros. Discovery assets.

==Programming==
{{main|List of HBO original programming}}
HBO's programming schedule currently consists largely of theatrically released feature films and adult-oriented original series (including, {{As of|November 2023|lc=y}}, dramas such as ''[[Euphoria (American TV series)|Euphoria]]'', ''[[Industry (TV series)|Industry]]'', ''[[The Gilded Age (TV series)|The Gilded Age]]'', ''[[House of the Dragon]]'', ''[[The Last of Us (TV series)|The Last of Us]]'', and ''[[True Detective]]''; comedies such as ''[[Curb Your Enthusiasm]]'' and ''[[The Righteous Gemstones]]''; and topical satires ''[[Last Week Tonight with John Oliver]]'' and ''[[Real Time with Bill Maher]]''). In addition, HBO also carries documentary films (mainly produced through its in-house production unit HBO Documentary Films), sports-focused documentary and magazine series (produced through its HBO Sports production unit), occasional original made-for-TV movies, occasional original concert and stand-up comedy specials, and short-form behind-the-scenes specials centered mainly on theatrical films (either running in their initial theatrical or HBO/Cinemax broadcast window). Newer episodes of most HBO original programs usually air over its main channel after 9:00&nbsp;p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time; depending partly on the day's programming schedule, repeats of original series, made-for-cable movies, and documentaries (typically excluding programs with graphic violent or sexual content) are shown during the daytime hours on the main channel, and at various times on HBO's themed channels. Four of the themed multiplex channels—HBO Signature, HBO Family, HBO Comedy, and HBO Zone—also each carry archived HBO original series and specials dating to the 1990s. (Outside of HBO Family, which regularly airs archived family-oriented series and specials, airings of older original programs may vary based on the channel's daily schedule.)<ref>{{cite web |date=July 29, 1991 |title=Cable show producers shoot tamer versions. (Home Box Office, Inc., among other cable companies, sanitizes original versions of films produced for commercial television consumption) |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-11113228.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511211736/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-11113228.html |archive-date=May 11, 2011  |periodical=Multichannel News}}</ref>

Beginning with its programming expansion to afternoons in 1974, the primary HBO channel had imposed a longstanding [[watershed (broadcasting)|watershed policy]] prohibiting films assigned an [[Motion Picture Association of America film rating system|"R" rating]] from being broadcast before 8:00&nbsp;p.m. ET/PT. (At various points, HBO also prohibited showings of X-/NC-17-rated and foreign [[art film]]s.)<ref>{{cite news|title=The Insider; HBO's bleeping little secret; bleeped profanity in an airing of the retrospective "Six Feet Under: 2001–2005: In Memoriam|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-135518278.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511211733/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-135518278.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 11, 2011|author=Michele Greppi|publisher=[[TelevisionWeek]]|date=August 22, 2005|access-date=February 25, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=It's Not TV: HBO, The Company That Changed Television: The Wall|url=http://www.soundonsight.org/its-not-tv-hbo-the-company-that-changed-television-the-wall/|author=Bill Mesce|publisher=Sound on Sight|date=September 16, 2013|access-date=February 1, 2014|archive-date=February 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202221502/http://www.soundonsight.org/its-not-tv-hbo-the-company-that-changed-television-the-wall/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=HBO: off the ground, but flying low |periodical=Broadcasting |page=47 |date=February 4, 1974}}</ref> The policy—which extended to films shown between 6:00&nbsp;a.m. and 8:00&nbsp;p.m. ET/PT, when HBO began offering 24-hour programming on weekends in September 1981—may have once stemmed from HBO's pre-mid-2000s availability on analog cable tiers (whereas its multiplex channels generally require a [[digital cable]] subscription or at least scrambling), and, because of controversy surrounding daytime showings of R-rated films that began being scheduled on competing premium services as early as 1980, remained in place well after the [[V-chip]] became standard in newer television sets.<ref name="b&c-hbo24hr">{{cite magazine |date=June 8, 1981 |title=HBO goes 24 hours |page=70 |periodical=Broadcasting}}<br />{{cite magazine |date=June 8, 1981 |title=HBO goes 24 hours |page=74 |periodical=Broadcasting}}</ref> From April 1979 to March 1987, rating bumpers preceding HBO telecasts of R-rated films included a special disclaimer indicating to viewers that the movie would air exclusively during the designated watershed period ("Home Box Office/HBO will show this feature only at night"). The watershed policy was extended to cover TV-MA-rated programs when the [[TV Parental Guidelines]] were implemented industry-wide on January 1, 1997, although HBO had already been withholding airing original programs incorporating mature content that would now qualify for a TV-MA rating outside the watershed period.<ref>{{cite web|title=HBO Schedule: Primary HBO channel|url=http://www.hbo.com/apps/schedule/ScheduleServlet?ACTION_TODAY=TODAY|publisher=HBO|access-date=October 5, 2012|archive-date=June 27, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080627023829/http://www.hbo.com/apps/schedule/ScheduleServlet?ACTION_TODAY=TODAY|url-status=dead}}</ref>

{{As of|2025}}, HBO no longer employs the watershed policy, allowing R-rated movies to air in selected morning and afternoon timeslots on its main channel. The policy began to be weakened in January 2010, when the main HBO channel started allowing original series, movies, and documentaries given a TV-MA rating for strong profanity or non-graphic violence to air during the daytime on Saturdays and Sundays; in January 2012, HBO began offering occasional Sunday daytime airings of R-rated films within its weekly encore showing of the Saturday movie premiere (airing as early as 4:00&nbsp;p.m. ET/PT, depending on the previous night's scheduled premiere film, that film's length, and the Sunday night block of HBO original series that usually follows the rebroadcast); by 2017, afternoon R-rated movie airings (which occasionally have been shown as early as 2:00&nbsp;p.m. ET/PT since then) were permitted in random afternoon timeslots any day of the week on the main channel at the network's discretion. Most of the six HBO thematic multiplex channels—except for HBO Family, which prohibits programming containing either equivalent rating by the effect of the channel's target audience and format<ref>{{cite web|title=HBO Family schedule website|url=http://www.hbo.com/apps/schedule/ScheduleServlet?ACTION_TODAY=TODAY|publisher=Home Box Office, Inc.|access-date=October 5, 2012|archive-date=June 27, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080627023829/http://www.hbo.com/apps/schedule/ScheduleServlet?ACTION_TODAY=TODAY|url-status=dead}}</ref>—air TV-MA and R-rated programming during morning and afternoon periods. HBO also does not typically allow most NC-17-rated films to be aired on the primary channel or its multiplex channels.{{Citation needed|date=January 2018}}

HBO pioneered the [[free preview]] concept—now a standard promotional tool in the pay television industry—in 1973, as a marketing strategy allowing participating television providers to offer a sampling of HBO's programming for potential subscribers of the service.<ref>{{cite book|title=It's Not TV: Watching HBO in the Post-Television Era|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z2SUAgAAQBAJ&q=HBO+free+preview+Lawrence,+Massachusetts&pg=PA3|author=Marc Leverette|author2=Brian L. Ott|author3=Cara Louise Buckley|publisher=[[Routledge]]|page=3|isbn=9781135902742|date=March 23, 2009|access-date=April 20, 2015}}</ref> Cable providers were permitted to offer the unscrambled HBO content—aired for a single evening or, beginning in 1981 at the network level (as early as 1978 on some providers), over a two-day weekend (later extended to three days in 1997, then to a Friday-to-Monday "four-day weekend" format by 2008)—over a local origination channel, though satellite and digital cable providers elected instead to unencrypt the channels corresponding to each HBO feed for the preview period.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Cable Briefs: HBO for free. |periodical=Broadcasting |page=42 |date=August 1, 1977}}</ref>

Until 2002, interstitials hosted by on-air presenters (notably including, among others, [[Norm Crosby]], [[Greg Kinnear]], [[Sinbad (comedian)|Sinbad]] and [[Ellen DeGeneres]]) promoting the service and its upcoming programs to prospective subscribers aired alongside on-air promotions between programs during the preview weekend, although interstitials produced in-house or by third-party producers were inserted by some providers over the HBO feed during promo breaks for their local or regional audience; from September 1988 to September 1994, the network also aired a 15-minute-long promotional "free preview show" each night of the preview event—usually following the headlining prime time film—that previewed upcoming HBO programming for prospective and existing subscribers. HBO offers between three and five preview events each year—normally scheduled to coincide with the premiere of a new or returning original series, and in the past, a high-profile special or feature film—to pay television providers for distribution on a voluntary participation basis.<ref>{{cite web|title=It's Not TV: HBO, The Company That Changed Television: Title Fights: The King of Pay-TV|url=http://www.soundonsight.org/its-not-tv-hbo-the-company-that-changed-television-expanding-the-brand-part-2/|author=Bill Mesce|publisher=Sound on Sight|date=August 29, 2013|access-date=April 15, 2014|archive-date=February 3, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203002350/http://www.soundonsight.org/its-not-tv-hbo-the-company-that-changed-television-expanding-the-brand-part-2/|url-status=dead}}</ref> (The total of participating providers that elected to offer a free preview event varies depending on the given preview period, and participating multiple-system cable operators may elect to carry the event only in certain regions where they provide service.)

HBO also produces short segments promoting newer movies with the cooperation of the film studios that hold distribution rights to the projects (almost universally by studios maintaining exclusive pay television contracts with HBO and Cinemax, and which have been rebroadcast on the former during a film's pay-cable distribution window), and have usually consisted of either interstitial "behind-the-scenes" and interview segments on an upcoming/recent theatrical release or [[red carpet]] coverage. Currently, these segments air under the ''HBO First Look'' series of 15-to-20-minute-long documentary-style interstitial specials, which debuted in 1992 and has no set airing schedule. (Since 2010, the "making of" specials, for which HBO officially no longer uses the ''First Look'' name, are only identified under the banner for [[TV listings|program listing]] identification.) The network previously produced three-to-five-minute-long feature segments that aired during longer-duration between-program promotional breaks, ''HBO News'' (1988–2011; formerly titled ''HBO Entertainment News'' from 1988 to 2007) and ''HBO Behind the Scenes'' (1982–1992). The interstitials—particularly those aired as episodes of ''First Look''—have also frequently been included as bonus features on DVD and [[Blu-ray Disc|Blu-ray]] releases of the profiled films. Since 2011, HBO no longer airs "behind-the-scenes" interstitials during promotional breaks, and has reduced airings of ''First Look'' to a few episodes per year as the network has honed its focus on higher-profile original programs and studios have increasingly limited their self-produced "making of" featurettes for exclusive physical and digital media release.{{Citation needed|date=January 2018}}

During the network's early years, HBO aired other interstitials in-between programs. Originally billed as ''Something Short and Special'', around 1980, ''InterMissions'' (as the interstitials were begun to be called in September 1978) was bannered into two groupings: ''[[Video Jukebox (TV series)|Video Jukebox]]'', a showcase of music videos from various artists (eventually separated from the other intermission shorts and given various long-form spinoffs, also titled as ''Video Jukebox'' or variants thereof), and ''Special'', showcasing short films. By 1984, the short segments had mainly been limited to comedic film shorts (originally branded as ''HBO Comedy Shorts'' and then as ''HBO Short Takes'', which used a set of differing animated intros) and youth-targeted live action and animated short films seen largely before and during family-oriented programming (branded as ''HBO Shorts for Kids''). Intermission shorts had largely vanished from the channel by 1988. Since 2014, HBO has occasionally aired short films ranging between 15 and 25 minutes in length at varying times each week during the overnight/early morning hours on its primary and select multiplex channels, in addition to being available on demand via HBO's various streaming and television VOD platforms (including its dedicated portal on HBO Max).

===Original programming===
HBO innovated [[original programming|original entertainment programming]] for cable television networks, in which a television series (both dramatic and comedic), made-for-television movie, or entertainment special is developed for and production is primarily, if not exclusively, handled by the channel of its originating broadcast. Since 1973, the network has produced a variety of original programs alongside its slate of theatrical motion pictures. Most of these programs cater to adult viewers (and, with limited exceptions, are typically assigned [[TV Parental Guidelines#TV-MA|TV-MA ratings]]), often featuring—with such content varying by program—high amounts of profanity, violence, sexual themes or nudity that [[basic cable]] or over-the-air broadcast channels would be reticent to air because of objections from sponsors and the risk of them pulling or refusing to sell their advertising depending on the objectionable material that a sponsor is comfortable placing their advertising. (Incidentally, since the early 2000s, some ad-supported basic cable channels—like [[FX (TV network)|FX]] and [[Comedy Central]]—have incorporated stronger profanity, somewhat more pervasive violence and sexual themes, and occasional nudity in their original programs, similar to the content featured in original programs shown on HBO and other premium services, with relatively limited advertiser issues.)

Mainly because it is not beholden to the preferences of advertisers, HBO has long been regarded in the entertainment industry for letting program creators maintain full [[artistic freedom|creative autonomy]] over their projects, allowing them to depict gritty subject matter that—before basic cable channels and streaming services deciding to follow the model set by HBO and other pay cable services—had not usually been shown on other television platforms. During the "Executive Actions" symposium held by ''[[The Washington Post]]'' and [[George Washington University]] in April 2015 (shortly after the launch of the HBO Now streaming service), then-HBO CEO Richard Plepler said that he does not want the network to be akin to [[Netflix]] in which users "[[binge watching|binge watch]]" its television shows and film content, saying "I don't think it would have been a great thing for HBO or our brand if that had been gobbled up in the first week[..] I think it was very exciting for the viewer to have that mystery held out for an extended period." Pleper cited that he felt that binge-watching does not correlate with the culture of HBO and HBO watchers.<ref>{{cite web|title=Here's Why HBO's CEO Doesn't Want You To Binge-Watch Shows|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/28/hbo-slams-binge-watching_n_7160496.html|author=Chris Morran|work=HuffPost|date=April 28, 2015}}</ref>

Some of its original programs, however, have been aimed at families or children, primarily those produced before 2001 (through its original programming division and third-party producers both American and foreign) and from 2016 to 2020 (under its agreement with Sesame Workshop); children's programs that have aired on HBO have included ''Sesame Street'', ''[[Fraggle Rock]]'', ''[[Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child]]'', ''[[A Little Curious]]'', ''[[Crashbox]]'', ''[[Babar (TV series)|Babar]]'', ''[[HBO Storybook Musicals]]'', ''[[Lifestories: Families in Crisis]]'', ''[[Dear America]]'' and ''[[The Little Lulu Show]]'' as well as acquisitions including ''[[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1986 TV series)|The Wonderful Wizard of Oz]]'', ''[[The Legend of White Fang]]'', ''[[Shakespeare: The Animated Tales]]'', ''[[Animated Hero Classics]]'' and ''[[The Country Mouse and the City Mouse Adventures]]''. Beginning in 2001, most of the family- or kid-oriented programs had migrated to HBO Family, with only a limited amount of newer family-oriented series being produced for either the primary channel or HBO Family since. (HBO Family continued to maintain a limited slate of original children's programming until 2003.)

HBO ventured back into children's programming with its acquisition of first-run broadcast and streaming rights to ''[[Sesame Street]]'', a long-running children's television series that had previously aired on the program's longtime broadcaster, [[PBS]] (and its [[PBS Kids|morning block]]), for the vast majority of its run, in a five-year programming and development deal with [[Sesame Workshop]] that was announced in August 2015. Although struck with the intent to have the show remain on PBS in some fashion, the nonprofit [[production company]] reached the deal due to cutbacks resulting from declines in public and private donations, distribution fees paid by PBS member stations, and licensing for merchandise sales. Through the agreement, HBO obtained first-run television rights to ''Sesame Street'', beginning with the January 2016 debut of its 46th season (with episodes being distributed to PBS, following a nine-month exclusivity window at no charge to its member stations); Sesame Workshop also produced original children's programming content for the channel, which also gained exclusive streaming rights to the company's programming library for HBO Go and HBO Now (assuming those rights from [[Amazon Prime Video|Amazon Video]], [[Netflix]] and Sesame Workshop's in-house subscription streaming service, Sesame Go, the latter of which will cease to operate as a standalone offering).<ref name="cnnmoney-sesamestreet">{{cite web|title='Sesame Street' is heading to HBO|url=https://money.cnn.com/2015/08/13/media/sesame-street-hbo/index.html|author=Frank Pallotta|author2=Brian Stelter|publisher=[[CNN]]|date=August 13, 2015|access-date=August 13, 2015|author2-link=Brian Stelter}}</ref><ref name="sw-hbomax">{{cite press release|title=HBO Max and Sesame Workshop Announce New Content Partnership Cementing a Shared Commitment to Kids and Families|url=https://www.sesameworkshop.org/press-room/press-releases/hbo-max-and-sesame-workshop-announce-new-content-partnership-cementing|website=[[Sesame Workshop]]|date=October 3, 2019|access-date=May 10, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Sesame Street is killing off its subscription streaming service, Sesame Go|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2015/08/14/sesame-street-is-killing-off-its-subscription-streaming-service-sesame-go/|author=Brian Fung|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=August 14, 2015|access-date=August 15, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title='Sesame Street' to Air First on HBO for Next 5 Seasons|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/14/business/media/sesame-street-heading-to-hbo-in-fall.html|author=Emily Steel|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 13, 2015|access-date=August 13, 2015|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=HBO Picks Up 'Sesame Street' As Kids' Viewing Habits Change|url=https://variety.com/2015/tv/news/hbo-picks-up-sesame-street-in-five-year-pact-with-sesame-workshop-1201569335/|author=Brian Steinberg|newspaper=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=August 13, 2015|access-date=August 14, 2015}}</ref> With the debut of HBO Max in May 2020, under contract renewal terms agreed upon between the studio and WarnerMedia in October 2019, ''Sesame Street'' and other Sesame Workshop content would shift from the linear television service to the streaming-based HBO Max later in the year.<ref name="sw-hbomax"/> In May 2025, after Warner Bros. Discovery dropped the series as part of cuts, it was announced that Netflix had acquired the rights to ''Sesame Street''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-19 |title='Sesame Street' moves to Netflix as streamer grows its preschool programming clout |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2025-05-19/sesame-street-finds-a-new-streaming-home-on-netflix |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Movie library===
{{See also|List of HBO Films films}}
On average, movies occupy between 14 and 18 hours of the daily schedule on HBO and HBO2 (or as little as 12 hours on the latter, depending upon if HBO2 is scheduled to carry an extended "catch-up" marathon of an HBO original series), and up to 20 hours per day—depending on channel format—on its five thematic multiplex channels.

Since June 6, 1992, HBO has offered weekly pay television premieres of recent theatrical and original made-for-cable movies on Saturdays at 8:00&nbsp;p.m. ET/PT. (Event presentations that have followed the movie—such as boxing coverage or concerts—have caused rare variances in the preceding film's start time; if a live event was scheduled, before the December 2018 discontinuation of HBO's boxing telecasts, the premiered film would air after the event—in reverse order from the Eastern feed scheduling—on the Pacific Time Zone feed.) From June 1996 until September 2006, the presentations were marketed as the "Saturday Night Guarantee" to denote a promise of "a new movie [premiering] every Saturday night" all 52 weeks of the year. (HBO had highlighted said "guarantee" in promotions for the Saturday premiere night dating to January 1994.) Before settling on having Saturday serve as its anchor premiere night, the scheduling of HBO's prime-time film premieres varied between Saturday, Sunday, and Wednesday, depending on competition from broadcast fare during the traditional network television season. First-run theatrical films debut on average from ten months to one year after a film's initial theatrical run has concluded, and no more than six months after their DVD or digital VOD download release.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cable Mavericks Collection: David Baldwin|url=https://www.cablecenter.org/media-room/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=157|website=The Cable Center|date=December 6, 2007|access-date=July 17, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Hooray for Hollywood|url=https://variety.com/2003/scene/markets-festivals/hooray-for-hollywood-2-1117891251/|author=Jack Egan|website=Variety|date=August 24, 2003|access-date=July 17, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=HBO trumpets Saturday night at the movies |author=Rich Brown |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable |page=24 |date=August 8, 1994}}</ref> [[COVID-19 pandemic|COVID-19]]-related [[Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cinema|postponements of newer theatrical releases]] by its distribution partners caused HBO to reduce the frequency of scheduled theatrical premieres in September 2020; since then, the Saturday 8:00 slot has been occupied by premieres of original specials and documentaries (scheduled at least once per month) and, since late December 2020, airings of older hit movies (mainly films released between 1979 and 2015) distributed under library content deals during gap weeks in the monthly premiere schedule.

As of March 2025, HBO and sister channel Cinemax (as well as their associated streaming platforms) maintain exclusive licensing agreements to first-run and library film content from the following studios and their related subsidiaries:
* [[Warner Bros. Pictures|Warner Bros. Pictures Group]] (since January 1987);<ref name="times-hbowarnerdeal">{{cite news|title=HBO Signs Deal for Exclusive Pay-TV Rights to Warner Movies|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-06-05-fi-9512-story.html|author=Kathryn Harris|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=June 5, 1986|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref>
** '''Subsidiaries:''' [[New Line Cinema]] (since January 2005),<ref name="very-hbounideal">{{cite news|title=HBO eclipses Starz in 8-year U pact|url=https://variety.com/2001/tv/news/hbo-eclipses-starz-in-8-year-u-pact-1117793026/|author=John Dempsey|periodical=Variety|date=January 30, 2001}}</ref> [[Warner Bros. Pictures Animation]] (since January 2014), [[DC Studios]] (since May 2017), and [[Castle Rock Entertainment]] (since January 2003);
** '''Library content:''' [[Warner Independent Pictures]] (2003–2008 releases)
* [[A24]] (since January 2024);<ref name="vty-hboa24deal">{{cite web|title=A24 Movies to Stream Exclusively on HBO and Max Under New Deal, Including 'Priscilla' and 'Iron Claw'|url=https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/a24-hbo-max-stream-exclusively-output-deal-priscilla-iron-claw-1235824282/|author=Todd Spangler|magazine=Variety|publisher=Penske Media Corporation|date=December 6, 2023|access-date=April 14, 2024}}</ref>
** '''Library content:''' (for post-2012 releases, since August 2022)<ref name="wrap-hboa24deal">{{cite web|title=HBO Max to Add Big Collection of A24 Films Including 'Ex Machina' and 'Room' in August|url=https://www.thewrap.com/hbo-max-a24-films-room-ex-machina-locke-august-1/|author=Sharon Knolle|website=The Wrap|date=July 19, 2022|access-date=April 14, 2024}}</ref>

HBO also maintains sub-run agreements—covering television and streaming licensing of films that have previously received broadcast or syndicated television airings—for theatrical films distributed by [[Paramount Pictures]] (including content from subsidiaries or acquired library partners [[Miramax]], [[Carolco Pictures]], [[MTV Entertainment Studios#Theatrically released|MTV Films]], [[Nickelodeon Movies]] and [[Republic Pictures]], all for films released prior to 2013), [[Universal Pictures]] (including content from subsidiaries [[Universal Animation Studios]], [[DreamWorks Animation]], [[Working Title Films]], [[Illumination (company)|Illumination]], and [[Focus Features]], all for films released prior to 2022), [[Summit Entertainment]] (for films released prior to 2023), [[Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures]] (including content from [[Walt Disney Pictures]], [[20th Century Studios]], and [[Searchlight Pictures]] (except films co-produced by [[Pixar]]), and former subsidiaries [[Touchstone Pictures]], and [[Hollywood Pictures]], all for films released prior to 2023), [[Sony Pictures|Sony Pictures Entertainment]] (including content from subsidiaries/library partners [[Columbia Pictures]], [[Sony Pictures Classics]], [[Embassy Pictures|ELP Communications]], [[Morgan Creek Entertainment]], [[Screen Gems]], [[Revolution Studios]], and former HBO sister company [[TriStar Pictures]]), and [[Amazon MGM Studios]] (including content from subsidiaries [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]], [[Orion Pictures]], [[United Artists]], and former subsidiaries [[The Cannon Group, Inc.|The Cannon Group]], and [[The Samuel Goldwyn Company]]).

HBO also produces made-for-cable television movies through a sister production unit [[HBO Films]], which traces its origins to the 1983 founding of HBO Premiere Films. Originally developed to produce original television movies and miniseries with higher budgets and production values than other telefilms, the film unit's first original movie project was the 1983 biopic ''[[The Terry Fox Story]]''. Differing from other direct-to-cable television films, most of HBO's original movies have been helmed by major film actors (such as [[James Stewart]], [[Michael Douglas]], [[Drew Barrymore]], [[Stanley Tucci]], [[Halle Berry]] and [[Elizabeth Taylor]]). The unit—which would be rechristened HBO Pictures in 1985—expanded beyond its telefilm slate, which was scaled back to focus on independent film production in 1984.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Cablecastings: Pleased with 'Fox' |periodical=Broadcasting |page=9 |date=August 22, 1983}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=HBO SETS A TREND IN CABLE MOVIES|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1985-07-28-8501310963-story.html|author=Bill Kelley|newspaper=[[South Florida Sun-Sentinel|Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel]]|date=July 28, 1985|access-date=May 18, 2020}}</ref> The current HBO Films unit was formed in October 1999 through the consolidation of HBO Pictures and [[HBO NYC Productions]] (created as HBO Showcase in 1986, and following its June 1996 restructuring, had also occasionally produced drama series for the network).<ref>{{cite news|title=TV VIEW; HBO'S NEW 'SHOWCASE' DISPLAYS PROMISE|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/07/20/arts/tv-view-hbo-s-new-showcase-displays-promise.html|author=John J. O'Connor|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 20, 1986|access-date=May 18, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Cablecastings: Coming next year |periodical=Broadcasting |page=10 |date=October 21, 1985}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=HBO Films taps exex|url=https://variety.com/1999/biz/news/hbo-films-taps-exex-1117758117/|author=Chris Pursell|periodical=Variety|date=November 17, 1999|access-date=May 18, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=HBO boosts made-for slate |author=Jim McConville |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable |page=47 |date=June 10, 1996}}</ref> Since 1984, HBO Films has also maintained an exclusive licensing agreement with HBO (later expanded to include Cinemax) for theatrical productions produced by the unit and, since HBO became co-owned with the film division through the 1989 Time-Warner merger, distributed through Warner Bros. Entertainment.

Films to which HBO maintains traditional telecast and streaming rights will usually also be shown on the Cinemax television and streaming platforms during their licensing agreement period (either after a film title completes its HBO window or transfers between services over certain months during the contractual period). Feature films from the aforementioned studios that maintain joint licensing contracts encompassing both services will typically make their premium television debut on HBO approximately two to three months before their premiere on Cinemax and vice versa.

====Background====
HBO's relationship with Warner Bros. began with a five-year distribution agreement signed in June 1986, encompassing films released between January 1987 and December 1992; the estimated cost of the initial pay-cable rights was between $300 million and $600 million, depending on the overall performance of Warner's films and HBO/Cinemax's respective subscriber counts. Although the Warner deal was initially non-exclusive, a preemptive strategy if its co-owned rivals [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]] and The Movie Channel (which elected not to pick up any spare Warner titles) sought full exclusivity over movie rights, the terms gave Warner an option to require HBO to acquire exclusive rights to titles covered under the remainder of the deal for $60 million per year (in addition to a guaranteed $65 million fee for each year of the contract).<ref name="times-hbowarnerdeal" /><ref>{{cite magazine |title=HBO signs pact with Warner. |periodical=Broadcasting |page=160 |date=June 9, 1986}}</ref> As a result of the 1989 Time-Warner merger, HBO and Cinemax hold pay-cable exclusivity over all newer Warner Bros. films for the duration of their joint ownership.

HBO and HBO Max initially reached a pay television and streaming rights deal with A24 (which had partnered with HBO to produce selected original series and specials since 2017, beginning with the comedy special ''[[Jerrod Carmichael]]: 8'') on July 18, 2022, which gave them library rights to the independent studio's 2013–2021 releases.<ref name="wrap-hboa24deal"/> On December 6, 2023, as part of a broader agreement that extended the studio's library content deal with both Warner Bros. Discovery-owned platforms, A24 announced it had entered into a multi-year output deal to distribute its films on HBO and Max following their theatrical release; the deal succeeded a pay-one exclusivity agreement that A24 had maintained with Showtime since 2019, which concluded at the end of 2023.<ref name="vty-hboa24deal"/><ref>{{cite web|title=New A24 Movies to Stream Exclusively on Max in New Output Deal|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/hbo-max-a24-deal-1235712928/|author=Mia Galuppo|author2=Carolyn Giardina|magazine=The Hollywood Reporter|date=December 6, 2023|access-date=April 14, 2024}}</ref>

====Former first-run contracts====
Being the first pay-cable service to go national, for many years, HBO was advantageous in acquiring film licensing rights from major and independent studios; until Showtime, The Movie Channel, and other premium channels started beefing up their movie product to compete with HBO in the early 1980s, HBO's dominance in the pay-cable market led to complaints from many motion picture companies of the network holding monopoly power in the pay cable industry and a disproportionate advantage in film acquisition negotiations.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Movie makers complain of HBO 'monopoly' |periodical=Broadcasting |page=51 |date=December 5, 1977}}</ref> During the early years of premium cable, the major American movie studios often sold the pay television rights to an individual theatrical film title to multiple "maxi-pay" and "mini-pay" services—often including HBO and later, Cinemax—resulting in frequent same-month scheduling duplication amongst the competing services. From its launch as a regional service, HBO purchased broadcast rights to theatrical movies on a per-title basis. The network pioneered the pay television industry practice, known as a "pre-buy", of buying the pay-cable rights to a movie from its releasing studio before it started filming, in exchange for agreeing to pay a specified share of a film's production costs; this allowed HBO to maintain exclusivity over film output arrangements and to save money allocated for film acquisitions.<ref>{{cite news|title=HOME BOX OFFICE MOVES INTO HOLLYWOOD|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/06/12/magazine/home-box-office-moves-into-hollywood.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 12, 1983|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref> In June 1976, it signed a four-year exclusive deal with [[Columbia Pictures]] for a package of 20 films released between January 1977 and January 1981, in exchange for then-parent company Time, Inc. committing a $5-million production financing investment with Columbia over between 12 and 18 months.<ref name="b&c-hbodeals76">{{cite magazine |title=HBO makes deals for movies, cable system |periodical=Broadcasting |page=55 |date=June 28, 1976}}<br />{{cite magazine |title=HBO makes deals for movies, cable system |periodical=Broadcasting |page=56 |date=June 28, 1976}}</ref><ref name="Movie Duels">{{cite web|title=It's Not TV: HBO, The Company That Changed Television: The Movie Duels|url=http://www.soundonsight.org/its-not-tv-hbo-the-company-that-changed-television-the-movie-duels/|author=Bill Mesce|publisher=Sound on Sight|date=September 2, 2013|access-date=February 1, 2014|archive-date=February 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202101645/http://www.soundonsight.org/its-not-tv-hbo-the-company-that-changed-television-the-movie-duels/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Although HBO executives were reluctant at first to strike such arrangements, by the mid-1980s, the channel had transitioned to exclusive film output deals (now the standard among North American premium channels), in which a film studio licenses all or a proportion of their upcoming productions to a partner service over a multi-year contract. In 1983, HBO entered into three exclusive licensing agreements tied to production financing arrangements involving Tri-Star Pictures (formed as a co-production venture between Time, Inc./HBO, Columbia, and CBS Inc.), Columbia Pictures (an exclusivity-based contract extension initially covering 50% of the studio's pre-June 1986 releases with a non-compete option to purchase additional Columbia titles) and [[Orion Pictures]] (encompassing a package of 30 films, in return for financial participation and a $10-million securities investment; the deal was indirectly associated with Orion's buyout of [[Filmways]] the year prior, in which HBO bought pay television rights to the studio's films). All three deals were approved under a [[United States Department of Justice|U.S. Department of Justice]] review greenlighting the Tri-Star venture in June of that year. (The Tri-Star deal became non-exclusive in January 1988, although Showtime elected not to acquire titles from HBO's film rights lessees.)<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Tri-Star gets go-ahead from Justice |periodical=Broadcasting |page=35 |date=June 28, 1983}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=CBS, Time Inc. (HBO) and Coca-Cola (Columbia) join forces to prime pump in movie production |periodical=Broadcasting |page=35 |date=December 6, 1982}}<br />{{cite magazine |title=CBS, Time Inc. (HBO) and Coca -Cola (Columbia) join forces to prime pump in movie production |periodical=Broadcasting |page=36 |date=December 6, 1982}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=HBO and Orion group buy into Filmways |periodical=Broadcasting |page=76 |date=February 15, 1982}}<br />{{cite magazine |title=HBO and Orion group buy into Filmways |periodical=Broadcasting |page=77 |date=February 15, 1982}}</ref> After the exclusive contract transferred to Showtime in January 1994, in July 1995, HBO preemptively signed a five-year deal with the studio that took effect in January 2000, in conjunction with a five-year extension of its existing deal with Columbia Pictures. (Columbia and TriStar's respective output deals with HBO ended on December 31, 2004, when [[Sony Pictures]] transferred exclusive pay-cable rights for their films to Starz—which {{As of|2020|May|lc=y}}, holds rights to televise all recent releases from either studio through December 2021, after which in January 2022, under a five-year agreement signed in April 2021, Netflix will assume pay television rights to its newer Sony films—after HBO declined a request by Columbia during contract negotiations to allow the studio to experimentally distribute its theatrical films via streaming video during its contract window.)<ref>{{cite news|title=H.B.O. Signs Studios' Deal|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/29/business/hbo-signs-studios-deal.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 29, 1995}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=TriStar titles go to Showtime|url=https://variety.com/1993/film/news/tristar-titles-go-to-showtime-108089/|author=John Dempsey|periodical=Variety|date=June 23, 1993|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=HBO grabs TriStar rights|url=https://variety.com/1995/tv/features/hbo-grabs-tristar-rights-99129219/|author=John Dempsey|periodical=Variety|date=July 10, 1995|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Starz renews deal to get Sony movies through 2021; deal seen as must-win for channel|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/starz-renews-deal-to-get-sony-movies-through-2021-deal-seen-as-must-win-for-channel/2013/02/11/fe7ae5d4-7473-11e2-9889-60bfcbb02149_story.html|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=February 11, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524182248/http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/starz-renews-deal-to-get-sony-movies-through-2021-deal-seen-as-must-win-for-channel/2013/02/11/fe7ae5d4-7473-11e2-9889-60bfcbb02149_story.html|archive-date=May 24, 2015}}</ref><ref name="vty-hbounihomerun"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Sony Pictures Moves Movie Output Deal From Starz to Netflix in Rich Pact|url=https://variety.com/2021/film/news/netflix-sony-pictures-pay-1-starz-output-1234946413/|author1=Matt Donnelly|author2=Cynthia Littleton|periodical=Variety|date=April 8, 2021|access-date=June 17, 2021}}</ref>

In February 1983, HBO signed an agreement with [[Silver Screen Partners]] (a now-defunct joint venture between HBO, Silver Screen Management, [[Thorn EMI]] and [[The Cannon Group, Inc.|The Cannon Group]]), in which HBO had right of first refusal in the film selection and received 5% of all profits derived from non-pay-cable distribution of the studio's films; the Silver Screen agreement concluded upon the studio's cessation in 1998.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=In Brief. |periodical=Broadcasting |page=120 |date=February 28, 1983}}</ref> In early 1984, HBO abandoned the exclusivity practice, citing internal research that concluded that subscribers showed indifference to efforts by premium channels to secure rights to studios' full slate of recently released films from to distinguish their programming due to [[VHS]] availability preceding pay-cable distribution in the release window. This change came after the firing of then-HBO chairman [[Frank Biondi]], reportedly for having "overextended the network in pre-buy and exclusive movie deals" as subscribership of pay-cable services declined. Biondi's replacement, Michael J. Fuchs, structured some of the subsequent deals as non-exclusive to allow HBO to divert more funding toward co-producing made-for-cable movies, other original programming, and theatrical joint ventures (via Tri-Star and Silver Screen Partners).<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Cablecastings: All in the Family |periodical=Broadcasting |page=10 |date=November 14, 1983}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Cablecastings: Face-lift |periodical=Broadcasting |page=10 |date=March 12, 1984}}</ref><ref name="nyt-festival"/> In July 1986, the network had signed a three-year output deal with [[New World Pictures]], whereas HBO would receive up to 75 New World films Showtime won't, which cost $50 million to sign a deal.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Daniels|first=Bill|date=1986-07-30|title=HBO Signs An Exclusive Deal For New World Theatricals; Paycabler Muffles Satisfaction|page=42|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref> On August 8, 1986, HBO had inked a non-exclusive agreement with [[Lorimar-Telepictures]] to enable a package of various Lorimar-Telepictures theatrical films up to 1989, and Lorimar-Telepictures would be involved as a production partner on several made-for-HBO television movies, in exchange for worldwide distribution rights, excluding pay television, and the current plans for the agreement enables five to six films per year from Lorimar-Telepictures.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Daniels|first=Bill|date=1986-08-06|title=L-T, HBO Enter Into A Two-Way Cable Film Deal|page=58|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref>

In September 1986, the network signed a five-year agreement with MGM/UA Communications Co. for a package of up to 72 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and [[United Artists]] films.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Cablecastings: HBO-MGM deal |periodical=Broadcasting |page=10 |date=September 1, 1986}}</ref> Also that month, HBO signed a pay cable and home video agreement with film producer [[Stephen J. Friedman (producer)|Kings Road Entertainment]], which will serve eight films, with the home video rights being assigned to subsidiary [[Home Box Office, Inc.|HBO/Cannon Video]], and the first film under the eight-picture agreement between HBO and Kings Road would be ''Touch & Go'', and will cost $65-$70 million.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1986-09-24|title=HBO Buys Rights To Kings Road Pix|page=37|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref> In November 1986, HBO signed an agreement with [[De Laurentiis Entertainment Group]] for films that ran between 1987 and 1990, along with a three-year home video rights contract for sister label HBO/Cannon Video.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1986-11-26|title=HBO/Cannon Nabs Rights To DEG Pix|page=39|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref> In December 1986, HBO signed a pact with Soviet Union producer Poseidon Films, to cover Soviet-based films that covered a non-specific timespan, with the network controlling US and Canada rights.<ref>{{Cite news|date=1986-12-17|title=HBO Signs Film Pact With Soviet Union|pages=42, 80|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref> In July 1987, HBO signed a five-year, $500-million deal for exclusive rights to 85 Paramount Pictures films to have been tentatively released between May 1988 and May 1993. (This solidified an existing alliance with Paramount dating to 1979, for the non-exclusive rights to the studio's films.) Though this contract would herald the end of its embargo on new film exclusivity deals, HBO's then-CEO Michael Fuchs cited Showtime–The Movie Channel parent [[Viacom (1952–2006)|Viacom]] (which, at the time, had debt in excess of $2.4&nbsp;billion) for it having to obtain exclusivity for the Paramount package, which the studio approached HBO directly to bid.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=HBO signs $500-million film deal with Paramount |periodical=Broadcasting |page=21 |date=July 20, 1987}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=HBO Buying Rights To Paramount Films|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/07/15/business/hbo-buying-rights-to-paramount-films.html|author=Geraldine Fabrikant|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 15, 1987}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=The HBO-Showtime struggle for Hollywood films |periodical=Broadcasting |page=38 |date=July 27, 1987}}<br />{{cite magazine |title=The HBO-Showtime struggle for Hollywood films |periodical=Broadcasting |page=39 |date=July 27, 1987}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Monitor: Now In HBO's Inventory. |periodical=Broadcasting |page=69 |date=December 3, 1979}}</ref> The Paramount package remained with HBO/Cinemax until December 1997; Showtime assumed the pay-cable rights to the studio's films in January 1998, under a seven-year deal reached as a byproduct of Viacom's 1994 purchase of Paramount from Paramount Communications, and held them until December 2008. (Shared rival [[Epix (TV network)|Epix]]—created as a consortium between Paramount/[[Viacom (2005–2019)|Viacom]], Lionsgate, and now-sole owner MGM—took over pay television rights upon that network's October 2009 launch.)<ref>{{cite news|title=Showtime announces deal with Paramount|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1995/05/19/Showtime-announces-deal-with-Paramount/8824800856000/|work=United Press International|date=May 19, 1995|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=NATPE 2009: Studio 3's New Net Will Be Epix Premium channel to launch Q4 2009|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/syndication-and-distribution/natpe-2009-studio-3%E2%80%99s-new-net-will-be-epix/50779|author=Paige Albiniak|periodical=Broadcasting & Cable|date=January 27, 2009|access-date=March 23, 2015}}</ref>

In March 1995, HBO signed a ten-year deal with the then-upstart [[DreamWorks Pictures|DreamWorks SKG]] valued at between $600 million and $1 billion, depending on the total output of films and generated revenue during the contract, covering the studio's tentative releases between January 1996 and December 2006.<ref>{{cite news|title=HBO Buys Rights to New Studio's Films|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/09/business/hbo-buys-rights-to-new-studio-s-films.html|author=Geraldine Fabrikant|newspaper=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|date=March 9, 1995|access-date=March 19, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=HBO's 'Dream' deal: $600 million-$1 billion |author=Rich Brown |periodical=Broadcasting |page=10 |date=March 13, 1995}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=March Gladness For HBO: A Billion-Dollar Deal And Costner, Too|url=http://articles.philly.com/1995-03-14/entertainment/25701186_1_rating-dreamworks-abc|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216180700/http://articles.philly.com/1995-03-14/entertainment/25701186_1_rating-dreamworks-abc|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 16, 2013|author=Lee Winfrey|agency=[[New York Daily News]] and Knight-Ridder News Service|newspaper=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]|date=March 14, 1995}}</ref> By result of the 2004 spin-off of its animation arm [[DreamWorks Animation]] into a standalone company, DreamWorks' pay-cable distribution rights were split up into separate contracts: in March 2010, Showtime acquired the rights to live-action films from the original DreamWorks studio (coinciding with the transfer of co-production agreement from Paramount Pictures to [[Touchstone Pictures]], then a Showtime distribution partner) for five years, effective January 2011.<ref>{{cite news|title=Showtime signs deal to air DreamWorks films|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-dreamworks-idUSTRE62B05H20100312|work=[[Reuters]]|date=March 12, 2010}}</ref> Then in September 2011, after HBO agreed to waive the last two years of its contract, Netflix acquired the DreamWorks Animation contract effective upon the December 2012 expiration of the HBO deal. (Before the 2015 launch of HBO Now, HBO required its studio output partners to suspend digital sales of their movies during their exclusive contractual window with the network; the Netflix deal was not subject to any distribution restrictions, allowing DreamWorks Animation to continue the re-sale of its films through digital download via third-party providers.)<ref>{{cite news|title=Netflix Secures Streaming Deal With DreamWorks|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/26/business/media/netflix-secures-streaming-deal-with-dreamworks.html|author=Brooks Barnes|author2=[[Brian Stelter]]|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 26, 2011|access-date=September 27, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Showtime Inks Deal With DreamWorks|url=https://www.multichannel.com/news/showtime-inks-deal-dreamworks-363405|author=R. Thomas Umstead|periodical=Multichannel News|date=March 15, 2010|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref>

20th Century Fox first signed a non-exclusive deal with HBO in January 1986, covering Fox films released between 1985 and 1988, along with a production co-financing agreement involving HBO original programs; the pact transitioned to an exclusivity arrangement with the 1988 renewal.<ref name="nyt-foxhbo">{{cite news|title=Fox-Time Venture|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/25/business/fox-time-venture.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=January 25, 1986|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Cablecastings: Change of heart |periodical=Broadcasting |page=10 |date=January 27, 1986}}</ref><ref name="b&c-hbofoxexclusive">{{cite magazine |title=HBO bags Fox films |periodical=Broadcasting |page=38 |date=May 16, 1988}}</ref> The first-run film output agreement with Fox was renewed by HBO for ten years on August 15, 2012 (with a provision allowing the studio to release its films through digital platforms such as [[iTunes]] and [[Amazon Prime Video|Amazon Video]] during the channel's term of license of an acquired film for the first time).<ref name="HBO Fox">{{cite news|title=HBO and 20th Century Fox renew output deal|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-hbo20th-20120815,0,5442974.story|author=Joe Flint|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=August 15, 2012}}</ref> While [[The Walt Disney Company]] completed its acquisition of 20th Century Fox in March 2019, Disney maintains an output deal with its in-house streaming services [[Disney+]] and [[Hulu]] for films produced or distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and its subsidiaries (which have not distributed their films over a traditional pay-cable service since the studio's agreement with HBO rival [[Starz (TV channel)|Starz]] ended in 2015). Disney continued to honor the output deal with HBO until November 2021, when WarnerMedia and Disney announced that the deal would be expanded to the end of 2022, with an amendment that would allow half of 20th Century Studios' 2022 slate to be shared between HBO or HBO Max and Disney+ or Hulu during the pay-one window beginning with ''[[Ron's Gone Wrong]]''.<ref name="20thHBO2022">{{cite web |last1=Spangler |first1=Todd |title=Disney, WarnerMedia Carve Up Fox Film Slate Streaming Rights Through End of 2022 (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2021/digital/news/disney-warnermedia-fox-movies-streaming-2022-1235117329/ |website=Variety |date=22 November 2021}}</ref>

HBO's relationship with Universal first began in March 1984, when it signed a six-year non-exclusivity deal with the studio; in April 1990, Universal elected to sign a deal with CBS for the licensing rights to a package of the studio's ten 1989 releases, bypassing the traditional pay-cable window.<ref name="b&c-hbouni84">{{cite magazine |title=HBO signs pact with Universal |periodical=Broadcasting |page=110 |date=March 19, 1984}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=THE MEDIA BUSINESS; CBS Is Said to Get 10 Films To Show Before Cable TV|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/09/business/the-media-business-cbs-is-said-to-get-10-films-to-show-before-cable-tv.html|author=Geraldine Fabrikant|newspaper=The New York Times|date=April 9, 1990|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=CBS takes Universal films passed on by cable |periodical=Broadcasting |page=57 |date=April 16, 1990}}</ref> The current Universal output deal—which began as an eight-year agreement that originally lasted through December 2010, assuming the studio's pay-cable rights from Starz—was renewed for ten years on January 6, 2013; the current deal gives HBO [[right of first refusal]] over select Universal titles, allowing the studio to exercise an option to license co-distributed live-action films to Showtime and animated films to Netflix if HBO elects not to obtain pay television rights to a particular film. (Universal put a 50% cap on title acquisitions for the first year of the initial 2003–10 contract, intending to split the rights between HBO and Starz as consolation for the latter outbidding HBO for the Sony Pictures output deal.)<ref name="vty-hbounihomerun">{{cite web|title=Inside Move: HBO Home Run|url=https://variety.com/2001/tv/news/inside-move-hbo-home-run-1117793244/|author=John Dempsey|periodical=Variety|date=February 6, 2001|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=HBO extends Universal deal, keeping films from Netflix|url=https://movies.yahoo.com/news/hbo-extends-universal-studio-deal-keeping-films-netflix-201204480--finance.html|website=[[Yahoo! Movies]]|publisher=[[Yahoo!]]|date=January 6, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130109032117/http://movies.yahoo.com/news/hbo-extends-universal-studio-deal-keeping-films-netflix-201204480--finance.html|archive-date=January 9, 2013}}</ref> On July 6, 2021, Universal Filmed Entertainment Group announced it would begin releasing its theatrical films on [[Peacock (streaming service)|Peacock]] after its exclusivity agreement with HBO concludes at the end of 2021, under a fragmented window (starting within 120 days of a film's theatrical release) through which Peacock will hold exclusive rights to Universal titles in bookending four-month windows at the beginning and end of the 18-month pay-one distribution period.<ref>{{cite web|title=Universal Moves Film Licensing Deal From HBO to Peacock, Bolstering Streaming Service|url=https://variety.com/2021/film/news/universal-moves-hbo-peacock-streaming-service-1235012751/|author=Brent Lang|periodical=Variety|date=July 6, 2021|access-date=July 7, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Peacock Will Become Pay-One Partner For All Universal Pics After HBO Deal Expiration At Year's End|url=https://deadline.com/2021/07/peacock-will-become-pay-one-partner-for-all-universal-pics-after-hbo-deal-expiration-at-years-end-1234787069/|author=Anthony D'Alessandro|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=July 6, 2021|access-date=July 7, 2021}}</ref> Subsequently, [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]] (on July 8) and Starz (on July 16) signed separate multi-year sub-licensing agreements, in which Universal films would stream on Prime Video and [[IMDb TV]] in a 10-month non-exclusivity window during the middle of the period and air on Starz's linear and streaming platforms following the Peacock/Amazon windows; HBO will continue to release Universal's 2021 film slate under their existing contracts through 2022, while Netflix will continue to offer the studio's animated films thereafter.<ref>{{cite web|title=Amazon Prime Video & IMDb TV Ink Movie Licensing Deal With Universal|url=https://deadline.com/2021/07/amazon-prime-video-imdb-tv-universal-licensing-deal-1234788103/|author=Anthony D'Alessandro|author2=Nellie Andreeva|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=July 8, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Starz Inks Post Pay-One Licensing Deal For Universal Movies|url=https://deadline.com/2021/07/starz-post-pay-one-licensing-deal-universal-jurassic-park-dominion-1234793988/|author=Nellie Andreeva|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=July 15, 2021|access-date=July 16, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Netflix, Universal Extend and Expand Animated Film Licensing Deal (EXCLUSIVE)|url=https://variety.com/2021/film/news/netflix-universal-dreamworks-animation-minions-1235018397/|author=Brent Lang|periodical=Variety|date=July 13, 2021|access-date=July 16, 2021}}</ref>

The first-run output deal with Summit Entertainment—which initially ran through December 2017, and replaced Showtime (which had exclusive rights to its films from January 2008 until December 2012) as the studio's pay-cable output partner when it initially went into effect in 2013—was renewed by HBO for an additional four years on March 1, 2016. (Summit is currently the only "mini-major" movie studio and the only studio not among the five core majors that maintains an exclusive output deal with HBO.)<ref name="HBO Chief">{{cite news|title=HBO Chief Talks HBO Now, International Expansion and Summit Output Extension|url=https://variety.com/2016/tv/news/hbo-chief-richard-plepler-summit-entertainment-1201720758/|author=Cynthia Littleton|periodical=Variety|date=March 2, 2016}}</ref> On March 2, 2021, it was announced that the deal with HBO through to the end of 2022 expires.<ref>{{cite web|title=Summit, HBO Sign Five-Year Output Deal|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/summit-hbo-sign-five-year-192658|author=Gregg Kilday|periodical=The Hollywood Reporter|date=May 26, 2011|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release|title=HBO and Summit Entertainment Enter into Exclusive Output Agreement|url=http://thefutoncritic.com/news/2011/05/26/hbo-and-summit-entertainment-enter-into-exclusive-output-agreement-328415/20110526hbo04/|publisher=Home Box Office, Inc./Time Warner|via=The Futon Critic|date=May 26, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Vlessing">{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/lionsgate-summit-label-films-headed-to-starz-for-exclusive-first-window-4141830|title=Lionsgate, Summit Label Films Headed to Starz for Exclusive First Window|last=Vlessing|first=Etan|date=March 2, 2021|website=The Hollywood Reporter|language=en|access-date=July 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200426164846/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/lionsgate-summit-label-films-headed-to-starz-for-exclusive-first-window-4141830|archive-date=April 26, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>

Other film studios which formerly maintained first-run pay-cable contracts with HBO have included [[American Film Theatre]] (non-exclusive, 1975–1977),<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Kahn still puts his chips on cable |periodical=Broadcasting |page=52 |date=July 14, 1975}}</ref> [[Walt Disney Pictures|Walt Disney Productions]] (non-exclusive, 1978–1982),<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Disney fare to cable |periodical=Broadcasting |page=42 |date=July 17, 1978}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Monitor: HBO says 'Hi, Mickey.' |periodical=Broadcasting |page=93 |date=December 22, 1980}}</ref> [[The Samuel Goldwyn Company]] (non-exclusive, 1979–1986),<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Hat in the ring. |periodical=Broadcasting |page=68 |date=October 29, 1979}}</ref> [[ITC Entertainment]] (non-exclusive, 1982–1990), New World Pictures (non-exclusive, 1982–1986), [[PolyGram Filmed Entertainment]] (non-exclusive, 1984–1989), [[Hemdale Film Corporation]] (non-exclusive, 1982–1986; exclusive, 1987–1991)<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Cablecastings: Exclusivity deals |periodical=Broadcasting |page=10 |date=September 29, 1986}}<br />{{cite magazine |title=Cablecastings: Exclusivity deals |periodical=Broadcasting |page=14 |date=September 29, 1986}}</ref> [[De Laurentiis Entertainment Group]] (non-exclusive, 1988–1991)<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Cablecastings: De Laurentiis deal |periodical=Broadcasting |page=14 |date=December 1, 1986}}</ref> [[Lorimar Television#Theatrical films|Lorimar Film Entertainment]] (non-exclusive, 1987–1990),<ref>{{cite news|title=Lorimar-Telepictures and HBO reached agreement.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-08-01-fi-19129-story.html|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=August 1, 1986|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref> and [[Savoy Pictures]] (exclusive, 1992–1997).<ref>{{cite news|title=Savoy Pictures and HBO Cut a Film Deal|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-06-16-fi-654-story.html|author=John Lippman|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=June 16, 1992|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref>

===Specials===
Alongside feature-length movies and other types of original programming, HBO has produced original [[television special|entertainment specials]] throughout its existence. Five months after its launch, on March 23, 1973, the service aired its first non-sports entertainment special, the Pennsylvania Polka Festival, a three-hour-long music event broadcast from the [[Allentown Fairgrounds]] in Allentown, Pennsylvania.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Pennsylvania Polka Festival|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/423286391|publisher=Home Box Office, Inc.|via=WorldCat|date=March 23, 1973|oclc=423286391}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Cable: The First Forty Years – Mileposts on the Road to 40 |periodical=Broadcasting |page=47 |date=November 21, 1988}}</ref><ref name="An Original Voice">{{cite web |author=Bill Mesce |date=October 11, 2013 |title=It's Not TV: HBO, The Company That Changed Television: An Original Voice |url=http://www.soundonsight.org/its-not-tv-hbo-the-company-that-changed-television-an-original-voice/ |access-date=February 1, 2014 |website=Sound on Sight |archive-date=December 17, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217192226/http://www.soundonsight.org/its-not-tv-hbo-the-company-that-changed-television-an-original-voice/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The network has cultivated a reputation for its [[stand-up comedy]] specials, which have helped raise the profile of established comedians (including [[George Carlin]], [[Alan King]], [[Rodney Dangerfield]], [[Billy Crystal]] and [[Robin Williams]]) and served as the launchpad for emerging comic stars (such as [[Dennis Miller]], [[Whoopi Goldberg]], [[Chris Rock]], [[Roseanne Barr]], [[Patton Oswalt]], [[Margaret Cho]] and [[Dave Chappelle]]), many of whom have gone on to television and film careers. HBO premieres between five and seven comedy specials per year on average, usually making their initial broadcast in late Saturday prime time, following its weekly movie premiere presentation.{{Citation needed|date=January 2018}} Regular comedy specials on HBO began on December 31, 1975, with the premiere of ''An Evening with [[Robert Klein]]'', the first of nine HBO stand-up specials that the comic headlined over 35 years. Positive viewer response to the special led to the creation of ''[[On Location (TV series)|On Location]]'', a monthly anthology series that presented a stand-up comedian's nightclub performance in its entirety and uncut; it premiered on March 20, 1976, with a performance by [[David Steinberg]].<ref name="b&c-hbodeals76"/><ref>{{cite magazine |title=HBO begins to roll its entertainment for pay cable |periodical=Broadcasting |page=25 |date=March 8, 1976}}<br />{{cite magazine |title=HBO begins to roll its entertainment for pay cable |periodical=Broadcasting |page=26 |date=March 8, 1976}}</ref> HBO's stand-up comedy offerings would eventually expand with the ''HBO Comedy Hour'', which debuted on August 15, 1987, with ''[[Martin Mull]]: Live from [[North Ridgeville, Ohio|North Ridgeville]]'', a variety-comedy special headlined by Mull that featured a mix of on-stage and pre-filmed sketches.<ref>{{cite news|title=Mario Puzo's novel "The Fortunate Pilgrim" is..|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-08-02-tv-469-story.html|author=Lee Margulies|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=August 2, 1987|access-date=July 22, 2020}}</ref> The ''Comedy Hour'' typically maintained a virtually identical concept as ''On Location'', taking that program's place as HBO's flagship stand-up series and ultimately resulting in ''On Location''{{'}}s phase-out after a 13-year run, ending with the premiere of ''Billy Crystal: Midnight Train to Moscow'' on October 21, 1989. A spin-off, the ''[[HBO Comedy Half-Hour]]'', airing from June 16, 1994 (with the inaugural special ''Chris Rock: Big Ass Jokes'') until January 23, 1998, maintained a short-form format in which the special's featured comedian presented their routine—usually recorded live at [[The Fillmore]] in San Francisco—only for 30 minutes.

George Carlin headlined the most comedy specials for the network, making 12 appearances between 1977 and 2008; his first, ''[[George Carlin at USC|On Location: George Carlin at USC]]'' (aired on September 1, 1977), featured Carlin's first televised performance of his classic routine, "[[Seven dirty words|The Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television]]".<ref name="An Original Voice"/> As other cable channels incorporated comedy specials due to their inexpensive format, HBO began to model its strategy with its comedy specials after its music programming, focusing on a few specials each year featuring popular comedians. (HBO stopped billing its comedy specials under the ''Comedy Hour'' banner after the February 6, 1999, premiere of the Carlin-headlined ''You Are All Diseased''.)<ref name="An Original Voice"/> The network's library of comedy specials would become part of the initial programming inventories of two comedy-focused basic cable networks started by HBO through Time Inc./Time Warner, [[The Comedy Channel (United States)|The Comedy Channel]] (launched on November 15, 1989) and its successor, [[Comedy Central]] (launched on April 1, 1991, as a consolidation of The Comedy Channel and Viacom-owned [[Ha! (TV network)|Ha!]]).

At irregular intervals between 1986 and 2010, HBO served as the primary broadcaster of ''[[Comic Relief USA]]''{{'s}} fundraising specials to help health and welfare assistance programs focused on [[Homelessness in the United States|America's homeless population]]. Developed by Comic Relief founder [[Bob Zmuda]] in conjunction with former HBO executive [[Chris Albrecht]], all eleven HBO editions of the fundraisers aired between the aforementioned years (out of the 15 produced by the charity over its 24-year existence) was hosted by Williams, Crystal, and Goldberg, featuring performances by stand-up comedians, [[improvisational comedy|improvisational comics]] and [[impressionist (entertainment)|impressionists]], and appearances by celebrities and politicians as well as documentary segments showing issues affecting the homeless. HBO and other sponsors handled all or most of the incurred costs of the Comic Relief events to ensure that money raised or contributed is distributed to the charity.<ref>{{cite book|title=Comic Relief: The Best of Comedy for the Best of Causes|author=Todd Gold|publisher=[[Avon Books]]|isbn=0-380-97391-X|year=1996}}</ref>

Concert-based music specials are occasionally produced for the channel, featuring major recording artists performing in front of a live audience. One of HBO's first successful specials was ''[[The Bette Midler Show|The Fabulous Bette Midler Show]]'',{{refn|group="note"|name=TBMS|While ''The Bette Midler Show'' is the program's official title, the June 1976 edition of the ''HBO Guide'' also refers to the special as ''The Fabulous Bette Midler Show'', using both titles interchangeably.}} a stage special featuring [[Bette Midler|Midler]] performing music and comedy routines, which debuted on June 19, 1976. It served as the linchpin for the creation of ''[[Standing Room Only (TV series)|Standing Room Only]]'', a monthly series featuring concerts and various stage "spectaculars" (including among others, [[burlesque]] shows, [[Vaudeville]] routines, [[ventriloquism]] and magic performances) taped live in front of an audience; ''SRO'' premiered on April 17, 1977 (with ''[[Ann Corio]]'s 'This Was Burlesque''' as inaugural broadcast).<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Cable Briefs: Pay for play |periodical=Broadcasting |page=94 |date=March 28, 1977}}<br />{{cite magazine |title=Cable Briefs: Pay for play |periodical=Broadcasting |page=95 |date=March 28, 1977}}</ref> For a time in the early 1980s, HBO produced a concert special almost every other month, featuring major music stars such as [[Boy George]] and [[the Who]]. After [[MTV]]'s successful rollout in 1981, the ''Standing Room Only'' series began to produce fewer concerts, eventually ending on May 24, 1987 (with the premiere of the [[Liza Minnelli]] concert special ''Liza in London''); HBO's concert telecasts also began to focus more on "world class" music events featuring artists such as [[Elton John]], [[Whitney Houston]], [[Tina Turner]] and [[Barbra Streisand]], as well as fundraisers such as [[Farm Aid]].<ref name="An Original Voice"/> ''[[Michael Jackson]]: Live in [[Bucharest]]'', recorded on the first leg of his 1992–93 [[Dangerous World Tour]], holds the record as HBO's highest-rated special with 3.7&nbsp; million viewers (21.4 rating/34 share) watching the October 10, 1992, premiere telecast. The special is also believed to be the largest financial deal for a televised concert performance on television, with estimates from music industry executives indicating that HBO paid around $20&nbsp; million for the rights.<ref>{{cite web|title=Jackson concert sets HBO record|url=https://variety.com/1992/music/news/jackson-concert-sets-hbo-record-101198/|periodical=Variety|date=October 15, 1992|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Michael Jackson, Live, On HBO in October|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/13/arts/michael-jackson-live-on-hbo-in-october.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 13, 1992|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref> In recent years, concert specials have had an increasingly marginal role among HBO's television specials, limited to an occasional marquee event or the annual induction ceremony of the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] (itself moving to [[Disney+]] in 2024).

===Sports programming===
[[File:HBO Sports logo.svg|275px|right]]
HBO broadcasts sports-related magazine and documentary series produced by HBO Sports, an in-house production division managed by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports (previously through Time Warner Sports from 1990 to 2018) that also produced selected sports event telecasts for the channel from its November 1972 launch until December 2018. HBO Sports has been headed by several well-known television executives over the years, including its founder Steve Powell (later head of programming at [[ESPN]]), Dave Meister (later head of the [[Tennis Channel]]), Seth Abraham (later head of [[MSG (TV network)|MSG Network]]),<ref name="An Original Voice"/> and [[Ross Greenburg]].

====Professional and tournament sports====
As HBO was being developed, the Time Inc./Sterling Communications partnership elected a local origination channel operated by Sterling Manhattan Cable Television (which served as the progenitor of the MSG Network) to handle production responsibilities for home game broadcasts involving the [[New York Knicks]] and [[New York Rangers]]—both based at [[Madison Square Garden]]—that would be televised on HBO throughout its initial Mid-Atlantic U.S. service area. (HBO founder Charles Dolan, through Cablevision, would purchase the arena and its headlining sports teams in a $1.075-billion joint bid with the [[ITT Corporation]] in August 1994; his son, [[James L. Dolan]], has owned the Knicks and Rangers through [[The Madison Square Garden Company]] since 2015, and Madison Square Garden through [[Madison Square Garden Entertainment]] by way of the former company's 2020 spin-off of its non-sports entertainment assets.) The contracts related to this arrangement dated to May 1969, when Manhattan Cable Television first signed a one-year, $300,000 contract with Madison Square Garden to broadcast 125 sports events held at the arena, and was extended for five additional years in November 1970.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=N.Y. CATV, Garden make sports deal |periodical=Broadcasting |page=22 |date=May 26, 1969}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=THE GARDEN SALE: THE DEAL; Madison Sq. Garden Deal Is a Victory for Viacom|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/08/29/business/the-garden-sale-the-deal-madison-sq-garden-deal-is-a-victory-for-viacom.html|author=Geraldine Fabrikant|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 29, 1994|access-date=July 17, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=CATV gets five-year TV sports contract |periodical=Broadcasting |page=51 |date=November 16, 1970}}<br />{{cite magazine |title=CATV gets five-year TV sports contract |periodical=Broadcasting |page=54 |date=November 16, 1970}}</ref> On November 1, 1972, one week before HBO formally launched, Madison Square Garden granted Sterling the rights to televise its sporting events to cable television systems outside New York City.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=How does your garden grow? |periodical=Broadcasting |page=51 |date=November 6, 1972}}</ref><ref name="nyt-sterlingmsgdeal">{{cite news |title=STERLING CABLE TV IN 200-EVENT DEAL |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/11/02/archives/sterling-cable-tv-in-200event-deal-signs-with-madison-square-garden.html |author=Louis Calta |newspaper=The New York Times |date=November 2, 1972 |access-date=July 17, 2020}}</ref>

The first game under this arrangement was the New York Rangers-Vancouver Canucks NHL game that launched Home Box Office on November 8, 1972, and served as its inaugural sports broadcast. For the 1974–75 Rangers and Islanders seasons, HBO contracted MSG announcers for play-by-play and color commentating duties; this created a burden on announcers to fill what otherwise would be [[dead air]] over the HBO feed of the games, since the service does not accept advertising, during the MSG Network's commercial airtime. [[National Basketball Association]] (NBA) and [[National Hockey League]] (NHL) coverage expanded with HBO's transition into a national satellite service, covering non-New York-based teams in both leagues (including the NBA's [[Milwaukee Bucks]], [[Boston Celtics]], [[Portland Trail Blazers]], [[Golden State Warriors]] and [[Los Angeles Lakers]]; and the NHL's [[Los Angeles Kings]]) under individual agreements as well as select playoff games.<ref name="b&c-hbograbssports">{{cite magazine |title=HBO grabs more sports |periodical=Broadcasting |page=49 |date=November 24, 1975}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Program Briefs: Partners. |periodical=Broadcasting |page=68 |date=February 16, 1976}}</ref> (The NBA and NHL discontinued their HBO telecasts after their respective 1976–77 seasons. In May 1978, the [[New York Supreme Court]] ruled then-Islanders and Nets president [[Roy Boe]] had [[breach of contract|breached an exclusive contract]] with Dolan's successor firm Long Island Cable Communications Development Co. through the HBO agreement and concurring contracts with other New York-area cable systems.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Cable firm wins suit against sports owner |periodical=Broadcasting |page=75 |date=May 22, 1978}}</ref>) In 1974, the network acquired the rights to broadcast [[World Football League]] (WFL) games from the [[Charlotte Hornets (WFL)|New York Stars]] (later relocated to [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]] as the Charlotte Hornets midway through the WFL's [[1974 World Football League season|inaugural season]]) and the [[Philadelphia Bell]]; 18 WFL games aired on HBO throughout two seasons until the league abruptly folded midway through the [[1975 World Football League season|1975 season]].<ref name="b&c-04291974">{{cite magazine |title=Pay television reaches 12% penetration on cable systems where it's offered |periodical=Broadcasting |page=25 |date=April 29, 1974}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=WFL on HBO Sports|url=http://wfl.charlottehornetswfl.com/pages_1974/hbo.php|website=WFL Charlotte Hornets|access-date=July 17, 2020}}</ref> In March 1973, HBO signed a $1.5-million contract to acquire the regional rights to a selection of [[American Basketball Association]] (ABA) games for five years; notably, it carried the [[1976 ABA Playoffs|1976 ABA Finals]]—the league's last tournament game before the completion of its merger with the NBA—a six-game tournament in which the [[Brooklyn Nets|New York Nets]] beat the [[Denver Nuggets]] four games to two. The merger of the two professional basketball leagues resulted in an early termination of HBO's ABA contract, which was originally set to expire on July 1, 1977, following the conclusion of the 1975–76 season.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Cable, pay TV make inroads on pro sports |periodical=Broadcasting |page=118 |date=March 19, 1973}}</ref>

Through 1977, HBO carried other sporting events originating on the Sterling Manhattan/Manhattan Cable sports channel, including [[World Hockey Association]] regular season and playoff games; [[Eastern College Athletic Conference]] (ECAC) tournaments (including the [[ECAC Hockey Men's Ice Hockey Tournament|Men's Ice Hockey Tournament]] and the ECAC Holiday Festival basketball tournament); [[World TeamTennis]]; international [[high school basketball]] invitationals; the [[National Horse Show]]; [[harness racing]] events from [[Yonkers Raceway & Empire City Casino|Yonkers Raceway]]; equestrian, [[roller derby]] and ice skating events; the [[Professional Karate Association|World Professional Karate Championships]]; the [[Millrose Games]] track and field invitational; the [[American Kennel Club|Westchester Kennel Club Dog Show]]; and [[Capitol Wrestling Corporation|World Wide Wrestling Federation]] matches. (The regionalized sports focus was soon copied by other local subscription television services launched during the 1970s and early 1980s, most notably [[PRISM (TV channel)|PRISM]], [[ONTV (pay TV)|ONTV]] and [[Wometco Home Theater]].) [[NCAA Division I|NCAA Division I college basketball]] games held at Madison Square Garden and, after becoming a national service, other venues (including the [[National Invitational Tournament]] and the Holiday Basketball Festival) were also carried by the network until the 1978–79 season.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Trotters for a price |periodical=Broadcasting |page=50 |date=May 28, 1973}}</ref>

HBO also provided regional coverage of [[New York Yankees]] baseball games for the 1974 season. New York independent station [[WPIX]] (now a [[The CW|CW]] affiliate) provided microwave signal pickup assistance to HBO for the telecasts; through its right of first refusal on game selection in its local television contract with the team, covering the team's away games, WPIX preempted planned coverage of four Yankees games that HBO was scheduled to carry that season. (The [[Philadelphia Phillies]] reportedly rejected an offer for HBO to televise regular season games not shown locally on independent [[WPHL-TV]] [now a [[MyNetworkTV]] affiliate].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Pay cable and sports trouble independents |periodical=Broadcasting |page=79 |date=April 2, 1973}}</ref>) HBO's Yankees telecast spurred a complaint filed in June 1974 by [[National Association of Broadcasters]] Special Committee on Pay TV chairman Willard Walbridge, who alleged they violated anti-siphoning rules barring pay television services from carrying live sports televised regularly on broadcast stations within two years. HBO representatives contended that regulatory interference over the game broadcasts was prohibited under the [[First Amendment of the United States Constitution|First Amendment]] and that it offered only weekday games as WPIX held rights to selected Yankees weekend games; it also contended the anti-siphoning rules did not apply as there was not a per-program charge for the broadcasts. In September 1974, citing the games were unavailable on broadcast television, the FCC gave temporary authorization for HBO to carry no more than three of the team's remaining regular season games.<ref name="b&c-04291974"/><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Walbridge damns Yankees on pay cable |periodical=Broadcasting |page=56 |date=June 24, 1974}}<br />{{cite magazine |title=Walbridge damns Yankees on pay cable |periodical=Broadcasting |page=57 |date=June 24, 1974}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=FCC to question HBO on its pay-cable of Yankees |periodical=Broadcasting |page=33 |date=July 29, 1974}}<br />{{cite magazine |title=FCC to question HBO on its pay-cable of Yankees |periodical=Broadcasting |page=34 |date=July 29, 1974}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=HBO claims prohibition on Yankee games usurps its freedom of speech |periodical=Broadcasting |page=81 |date=August 19, 1974}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=FCC ad-hocs HBO-Yankees issue |periodical=Broadcasting |page=56 |date=September 23, 1974}}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis |title=Cable Television and Sports |author=Lawrence Walter Lynn |type=MA thesis |publisher=[[Michigan State University]] |year=1975 |url=https://d.lib.msu.edu/etd/14804/datastream/OBJ/View/ |access-date=November 11, 2020 |doi=10.25335/M5CC0TW0V |archive-date=November 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221111192939/https://d.lib.msu.edu/etd/14804/datastream/OBJ/View/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> HBO broadcast approximately 20 Yankees games in 1974 and 25 games in 1975. HBO attempted to negotiate the carriage of a weekly Thursday night MLB game package in 1976, but ultimately balked at the price being asked for by baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn.<ref>Fort Lauderdale News. May 8, 1976. p. 44.</ref> From 1973 to 1976, HBO carried [[Professional Bowlers Association]] (PBA) [[HBO Sports Bowling|tournament events]]; beginning with the Winston-Salem Open on June 10, 1973, the network aired around 25 PBA tournaments, including eight which HBO co-sponsored over those three years. [[Dick Stockton]], [[Marty Glickman]] and [[Spencer Ross]] served as [[play-by-play]] announcers, and Skee Foremsky acted as the [[color commentator]] for the bowling telecasts.<ref>{{cite web|title=Just Paying Attention|url=http://www.thebowlingnews.net/pdf/02-09-17_Bowling_news-WEB.pdf|author=Mark London|website=The Bowling News|date=February 9, 2017|access-date=July 7, 2020}}{{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media|via=YouTube|title=1974 PBA New Jersey Open Introduction|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Yg-pQC96Qw |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/2Yg-pQC96Qw |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|access-date=October 5, 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

With the assistance of programming consultation and acquisition firm [[IMG (company)|Trans World International]],<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Cable Briefs |periodical=Broadcasting |page=62 |date=September 22, 1975}}</ref> the expansion into a national service resulted in HBO expanding its sports coverage to include a broader array of events from the United States and Canada, including the [[North American Soccer League (1968–1984)|North American Soccer League]] (1976–1978), select [[Amateur Athletic Union]] tournaments (1976–1981), select [[LPGA]] golf tournaments (1976–1978), championship rodeo (1976–1978), the [[USA Gymnastics National Championships|USGF National Gymnastics Championships]] (1976–1981), [[Skate Canada International]] (1976–1978), the [[Canadian Football League]] (1976–1978), non-basketball NCAA tournaments including the [[NCAA Men's Gymnastics Championships|Men's Gymnastics Championships]] (1976–1978) and the [[NCAA Division I Baseball Championship|Division I Baseball Championships]] (1977–1978). Most of the aforementioned events ceased to be part of HBO's sports offerings in 1978, citing much of its sporting events generally had regional appeal, "don't repeat" and were readily abundant on commercial television.<ref name="b&c-hbolevin">{{cite magazine |date=October 17, 1977 |title=Cablecastings: HBO: point man for an industry makes it into the clear |page=50 |periodical=Broadcasting}}<br />{{cite magazine |date=October 17, 1977 |title=Cablecastings: HBO: point man for an industry makes it into the clear |page=51 |periodical=Broadcasting}}<br />{{cite magazine |date=October 17, 1977 |title=Cablecastings: HBO: point man for an industry makes it into the clear |page=52 |periodical=Broadcasting}}<br />{{cite magazine |date=October 17, 1977 |title=Cablecastings: HBO: point man for an industry makes it into the clear |page=53 |periodical=Broadcasting}}</ref> The NCAA regular season and tournament events remained on HBO until the 1978–79 athletic season, shifting over to upstart basic cable network ESPN beginning with the 1979–80 athletic season under an exclusive national cable deal with the organization; USGF, AAU and select non-NCAA invitational events remained on the network until early 1981, thereafter limiting HBO's sports rights to boxing and Wimbledon.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=In Brief |periodical=Broadcasting |page=39 |date=February 26, 1979}}</ref>

====Wimbledon tennis====
In [[1975 Wimbledon Championships|July 1975]], HBO inaugurated regional coverage of the [[The Championships, Wimbledon|Wimbledon]] tennis tournament for its Mid-Atlantic U.S. subscribers. (That year saw [[Arthur Ashe]] defeat defending champion [[Jimmy Connors]], 6–1, 6–1, 5–7, 6–4, in the [[1975 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles|Gentlemen's Singles final]], becoming the first Black male to win a Wimbledon singles title.<ref>{{cite news|title=1975: Ashe's Wimbledon win makes history|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/5/newsid_2798000/2798971.stm|website=BBC News|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref>) Initially, the HBO telecasts of the tournament mainly consisted of replays culled from other video sources (including the [[BBC]]); HBO Sports began to employ an in-house team of commentators starting with the [[1978 Wimbledon Championships|1978 tournament]].<ref>{{cite news|title=LIVE, FROM WIMBLEDON, HBO SET TO SERVE|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1994-06-20-9406200170-story.html|author=Steve Nidetz|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=June 20, 1994|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref> Throughout its tenure on the channel, Wimbledon coverage on HBO, which was the first to offer weekday tennis coverage on network television, consisted of singles and doubles events from the early rounds of the tournament; [[Tennis on NBC#Wimbledon coverage|NBC]] (which had the over-the-air broadcast rights to Wimbledon since [[1969 Wimbledon Championships|1969]]) maintained rights to the quarterfinal, semi-final and final rounds as well as weekend early-round matches. (Before the arrival of Wimbledon, HBO also carried the men's and women's rounds of the [[U.S. National Indoor Championships]] from 1972 to 1976 and selected [[WTA Tour]] events from 1977 to 1979.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Cable briefs: Net gain for HBO. |periodical=Broadcasting |page=79 |date=February 21, 1977}}</ref>)

On June 25, 1999, HBO Sports announced it would not renew its share of the Wimbledon television contract after the conclusion of [[1999 Wimbledon Championships|that year]]'s tournament, ending its 25-year broadcast relationship with the [[Grand Slam (tennis)|Grand Slam]] event. Seth Abraham, then-president of HBO Sports parent unit Time Warner Sports, said at the time that the decision was guided by a need to "refresh" its programming slate rather than because of issues with financial terms or stagnant viewership. (At the time of the announcement, HBO paid $8&nbsp; million annually—under a $40-million deal over five years—to air the tournament.)<ref>{{cite news|title=TENNIS: WIMBLEDON; HBO Won't Renew Wimbledon Deal|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/06/26/sports/tennis-wimbledon-hbo-won-t-renew-wimbledon-deal.html|author=Richard Sandomir|newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 26, 1999|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=HBO Bids Adieu to Wimbledon|url=https://www.multichannel.com/news/hbo-bids-adieu-wimbledon-154866|author=R. Thomas Umstead|periodical=Multichannel News|date=July 4, 1999|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref> Although ESPN, [[Fox Sports Networks|Fox Sports Net]] and [[USA Network]] each expressed interest in obtaining the cable package relinquished by HBO, Time Warner kept that portion of the Wimbledon contract within its corporate umbrella by signing an agreement for cable rights via [[TNT Sports (United States)|Turner Sports]]. Under the agreement, [[Tennis on TNT|coverage]] aired on [[TNT (American TV network)|TNT]] and [[CNN/SI]] (later moved to the now-defunct [[CNNfn]] in 2002, after CNN/SI's shutdown) beginning with the [[2000 Wimbledon Championships|2000 tournament]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Richard Sandomir |date=January 19, 2000 |title=PLUS: BROADCASTING; Wimbledon Deals Total $30 Million |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/19/sports/plus-broadcasting-wimbledon-deals-total-30-million.html |access-date=July 7, 2020 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Jeff Goodman |date=June 28, 1999 |title=HBO Won't Renew Contract to Cover Wimbledon |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/tennis/longterm/1999/wimbledon/articles/hbo29.htm |access-date=July 7, 2020 |newspaper=The Washington Post |agency=Associated Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=R. Thomas Umstead |date=January 2, 2000 |title=Turner, NBC Double Up for Wimbledon |url=https://www.multichannel.com/news/turner-nbc-double-wimbledon-159580 |access-date=July 7, 2020 |periodical=Multichannel News}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Langdon Brockinton |date=January 24, 2000 |title=Wimbledon gets big TV deal |url=https://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2000/01/24/No-Topic-Name/Wimbledon-Gets-Big-TV-Deal.aspx |access-date=July 7, 2020 |website=Sports Business Daily}}</ref> In 2003, this package moved to [[ESPN2]]; ESPN would later assume exclusive rights to the entire tournament in [[2012 Wimbledon Championships|2012]].<ref>{{cite news|title=ESPN, Wimbledon come to terms|url=https://www.upi.com/Sports_News/2003/04/14/ESPN-Wimbledon-come-to-terms/27281050341777/|work=United Press International|date=April 14, 2003|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=ESPN Reaches Deal to Carry Wimbledon|url=http://straightsets.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/03/espn-reaches-deal-to-carry-wimbledon/|author=Richard Sandomir|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 3, 2011|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref> 

Professional tennis briefly returned to HBO on March 2, 2009, when it broadcast the inaugural edition of the now-defunct [[BNP Paribas Showdown]] as a one-off special presentation.<ref>{{cite web|title=HBO SETS TENNIS TALENT LINEUP FOR MARCH 2|url=https://sportsmedianews.com/hbo-sets-tennis-talent-lineup-for-march-2/|website=Sports Media News|date=February 10, 2009|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref>

====Boxing====
{{Main|HBO World Championship Boxing}}
HBO's sports coverage was long synonymous with its boxing telecasts, fronted by matches featured on HBO Sports' longtime flagship series, ''HBO World Championship Boxing''. Its first boxing telecast, on January 22, 1973, was "[[Joe Frazier vs. George Foreman|The Sunshine Showdown]]", the world [[heavyweight]] championship bout from [[Kingston, Jamaica]] in which [[George Foreman]] defeated [[Joe Frazier]] in two rounds. Outside of high-profile matches held at exotic locales, most of the boxing events shown during HBO's early existence as a regional service were bouts held at Madison Square Garden; once HBO became a national service, boxing coverage began to regularly cover fights held at [[The Forum (Inglewood, California)|The Forum]] (as part of its television contract with the Los Angeles Lakers and Kings<ref name="b&c-hbograbssports"/>) and other arenas. On September 30, 1975, the "Thrilla in Manila" boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier aired on HBO (under a licensing agreement with television program distributor Video Techniques) and was the first program on the network to be broadcast via satellite.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=In Brief |periodical=Broadcasting |page=18 |date=August 18, 1975}}</ref> (HBO also provided the first interconnected satellite demonstration broadcast on June 18, 1973, in which a heavyweight championship match between [[Jimmy Ellis (boxer)|Jimmy Ellis]] and [[Earnie Shavers]] was relayed via [[Anik (satellite)|Anik A]] to a closed-circuit system at the [[Anaheim Convention Center]] in Anaheim, California, and to a Teleprompter Cable system in [[San Bernardino, California|San Bernardino]].)<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Domsat shows for Anaheim. |periodical=Broadcasting |page=60 |date=June 18, 1973}}</ref> Boxing telecasts aired on various scheduled nights through 1979, and mainly aired thereafter on Fridays; boxing telecasts moved to Saturdays full-time in 1987. (All boxing events shown on HBO aired on average in two- to three-week intervals.) Through 1979, HBO also carried various [[Golden Gloves|National Golden Gloves]] competitions, and from 1978 to 1979, carried the [[National Collegiate Boxing Association]] championships.

HBO expanded its boxing content to [[pay-per-view]] in December 1990, when it created a production arm to distribute and organize marquee boxing matches in conjunction with participating promoters, TVKO (rebranded HBO PPV in 2001 and HBO Boxing Pay-Per-View in 2013); the first TVKO-produced boxing event was the April 19, 1991, [[Evander Holyfield vs. George Foreman|"Battle of the Ages" bout]] between [[Evander Holyfield]] and [[George Foreman]]. (TVKO signed Holyfield away from Showtime, which had been carrying his matches since its ''[[Showtime Championship Boxing]]'' telecasts premiered in 1986, under an agreement with promoter [[Dan Duva]] during Holyfield's reign as cruiserweight champion.)<ref>{{cite magazine |title=HBO and Showtime Climb Into the PPV Ring |periodical=Broadcasting |page=28 |date=December 24, 1990}}<br />{{cite magazine |title=HBO and Showtime Climb Into the PPV Ring |periodical=Broadcasting |page=29 |date=December 24, 1990}}</ref>

HBO expanded its boxing slate on February 3, 1996, when ''[[HBO Boxing After Dark]]'' (titled ''HBO Late Night Fights'' for its inaugural edition) premiered with title fights involving contenders in the [[super bantamweight|junior featherweight]] ([[Marco Antonio Barrera]] vs. [[Kennedy McKinney]]) and [[super flyweight|junior bantamweight]] ([[Johnny Tapia]] vs. Giovanni Andrade) classes. The program typically featured fight cards involving well-known contenders (generally those not designated as "championship" or "title" bouts), and up-and-coming boxing talents that had previously been featured mainly on basic cable boxing showcases (such as ESPN's ''[[Friday Night Fights]]''). A second franchise extension, ''[[KO Nation]]'' (which ran from May 6, 2000, to August 11, 2001), attempted to incorporate [[hip-hop]] music performances between matches involving up-and-coming boxers to attract the show's target audience of males 18 to 24 (later broadened to ages 18 to 34) to the sport; former ''[[Yo! MTV Raps]]'' VJ [[Ed Lover]] was the "face" of the show and acted as its ring announcer. (Internal research stated that males aged 18–34 accounted for 3% of boxing viewership, while men 50 and older made up 60% of the sport's audience.)<ref>{{cite web|title=HBO seeks younger auds with 'KO'|url=https://variety.com/2000/tv/news/hbo-seeks-younger-auds-with-ko-1117778808/|author=R. Thomas Umstead|periodical=Variety|date=February 27, 2000|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=HBO adds afternoon boxing series |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable |page=69 |date=February 28, 2000}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=HBO Has High Hopes For New KO Nation|url=https://www.multichannel.com/news/hbo-has-high-hopes-new-ko-nation-152794|author=R. Thomas Umstead|periodical=Multichannel News|date=August 20, 2000|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref> ''KO Nation'' drew low ratings throughout its run, even after it was moved from Saturday afternoons to Saturday late nights in January 2001. HBO Sports then refocused its efforts at attracting younger viewers through ''Boxing After Dark''.<ref>{{cite web|title=HBO Sports plans to take boxing series 'KO Nation' into the night|url=https://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2000/11/27/This-Weeks-Issue/HBO-Sports-Plans-To-Take-Boxing-Series-KO-Nation-Into-The-Night.aspx|author=Langdon Brockinton|periodical=Sports Business Daily|date=November 27, 2000|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=HBO Knocks Out KO Nation|url=https://www.multichannel.com/news/hbo-knocks-out-ko-nation-139493|author=R. Thomas Umstead|periodical=Multichannel News|date=July 2, 2001|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref> To court the sport's Hispanic and Latino fans, the network's boxing franchises expanded to HBO Latino with the January 2003 premiere of ''[[Oscar De La Hoya]] Presenta Boxeo De Oro'', a showcase of up-and-coming boxers represented by the De La Hoya-founded [[Golden Boy Promotions]]. A second boxing series for HBO Latino, ''Generación Boxeo'', premiered on the multiplex channel in April 2006.<ref>{{cite web|title=HBO Latino Enters the Ring|url=https://www.multichannel.com/news/hbo-latino-enters-ring-136521|periodical=Multichannel News|date=October 9, 2002|access-date=May 9, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release|title=HBO Latino Launches New Boxing Series, Generación Boxeo, Debuting Exclusively, Thursday, April 27|url=https://www.warnermediagroup.com/newsroom/press-releases/2006/04/24/hbo-latino-launches-new-boxing-series-generaci-n-boxeo-debuting|website=WarnerMedia|date=April 24, 2006|access-date=May 9, 2020}}</ref>

On September 27, 2018, HBO announced it would discontinue its boxing telecasts after 45 years, following its last televised match on October 27, marking the end of live sports on the network. (Two additional ''World Championship Boxing''/''Boxing After Dark'' cards would follow that originally scheduled final broadcast, airing respectively on November 24 and December 8, 2018.) HBO's decision to bow out of boxing telecasts was due to factors that included the influx of sports-based streaming services (such as [[DAZN]] and [[ESPN+]]) and issues with [[Promoter (entertainment)|promoters]] that hampered its ability to acquire high-profile fight cards, and resulting declining ratings and loss of interest in the sport among HBO's subscribers. Also factoring into the move was HBO parent WarnerMedia's then-recent ownership transfer to AT&T, and the network's efforts to focus on its scripted programming; network executives thought that "HBO [was] not a sports network."<ref>{{cite news|title=HBO Says It Is Leaving the Boxing Business|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/27/sports/hbo-boxing.html|author=Wallace Matthews|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 27, 2018|access-date=September 27, 2018}}</ref> Since then, although it no longer produces sporting event telecasts, HBO Sports has continued to exist as a production unit for the network's sports magazine shows and documentaries.

====Magazine and documentary series====
Since 1977, HBO has offered documentary- and interview-based weekly series focusing on athletes and the world of athletics. On September 22, 1977, HBO premiered the channel's first original weekly series, and its first sports-related documentary and analysis series, ''Inside the NFL'', a program that featured post-game highlights and analysis of the previous week's marquee [[National Football League]] games (using footage provided by [[NFL Films]]) as well as interviews with players, coaches and team management. The program was one of the first studio shows on cable television to offer weekly NFL game reviews, predating the launches of similar football review shows on ESPN and other sports-centered cable networks. ''[[Inside the NFL]]'' would go on to become the network's longest-running program, airing for 31 seasons until it ended its HBO run in February 2008. (After HBO canceled the program, ''Inside the NFL'' was subsequently acquired by Showtime, under arrangement with [[CBS Sports]], formally moving to the rival premium channel in September 2008.)<ref>{{cite magazine |title=HBO fills in its hand for fall |periodical=Broadcasting |page=63 |date=September 12, 1977}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title='Inside the NFL' ending 31-year run on HBO|url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/football/2008-02-06-3063546697_x.htm|agency=[[Associated Press]]|newspaper=[[USA Today]]|date=February 6, 2008|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=CBS, Showtime go 'Inside the NFL'|url=https://variety.com/2008/scene/news/cbs-showtime-go-inside-the-nfl-1117986847/|periodical=Variety|date=June 3, 2008|access-date=July 7, 2020}}</ref> The network would build upon the concept behind ''Inside the NFL'' through the debuts of additional sports talk and documentary programs: the [[Major League Baseball]]-focused ''[[Race for the Pennant]]'' (1978–1992), ''HBO Sports Magazine'' (1981–1982), ''[[On the Record with Bob Costas]]'' (2001–2005) and its revamped iteration ''[[Costas Now]]'' (2005–2009), and ''[[Joe Buck Live]]'' (2009).

Another program built on similar groundwork, ''[[Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel]]''—which eventually became the network's flagship sports [[newsmagazine]]—premiered on April 2, 1995, and lasted for 29 seasons before ending on December 19, 2023. The hour-long monthly series (originally airing quarterly until 1999), hosted by veteran television journalist and sportscaster [[Bryant Gumbel]], regularly received positive reviews for its groundbreaking journalism and typically features four stories centering on societal and athletic issues associated with the sports world, investigative reports, and interviews with famous athletes and other sports figures. {{As of|2020}}, ''Real Sports'' has received 33 [[Sports Emmy Awards]] (including 19 for Outstanding Sports Journalism) throughout its run, as well as two Peabody Awards (in 2012 and 2016) and three [[Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award]]s.<ref>{{cite news|title=A REALLY GOOD SHOW CELEBRATES 10 YEARS|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/os-xpm-2005-04-08-0504080218-story.html|author=Scott Andera|newspaper=[[Orlando Sentinel]]|date=April 8, 2005|access-date=July 7, 2020|archive-date=July 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200708142113/https://www.nydailynews.com/os-xpm-2005-04-08-0504080218-story.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Of note, the show's 2004 Sports Emmy win for "Outstanding Sports Journalism" and 2006 duPont–Columbia University Award win for "Outstanding Broadcast Journalism" was for a half-hour hidden camera investigative report—guided by human rights activist [[Ansar Burney]]—into slavery and torture in secret desert camps in the [[United Arab Emirates]] (UAE), where boys younger than age 5 were trained in [[camel racing]]. The segment uncovered a carefully hidden [[child slavery]] ring that bought or [[kidnapping|kidnapped]] hundreds of young boys in [[Pakistan]] and [[Bangladesh]], who were then forced to become camel jockeys in the UAE and questioned the sincerity of U.S. diplomatic pressure on the UAE, an ally to the United States, to comply with the country's ban on children under age 15 from participating in camel racing. The documentary brought worldwide attention to the plight of child camel jockeys in the Middle East and helped the Ansar Burney Trust convince the governments of [[Qatar]] and the UAE to end the use of children in the sport.

In 2001, HBO and [[NFL Films]] began to jointly produce the documentary series ''[[Hard Knocks (documentary series)|Hard Knocks]]'', which follows an individual [[National Football League|NFL]] team each season during [[training camp]] and their preparations for the upcoming football season.<ref name="An Original Voice"/><ref>{{cite web|title=HBO Hard Knocks|url=http://www.hbo.com/hardknocks/|publisher=Home Box Office, Inc.|access-date=October 5, 2012}}</ref>

==Branding==
The original HBO logo—used from the channel's November 8, 1972, launch until April 30, 1975—consisted of a minimalist [[marquee (sign)|marquee]] light array surrounding a left-adjusted "Home Box Office" nameplate, rendered in [[Capitalization|mixed-caps]], accompanied by a ticket stub image (the former and latter signifying the channel's initial film and event programming focus).

The first iteration of the current HBO [[wordmark|lettermark]], designed by then Time-Life [[art director]] Betty E. Brugger,<ref>{{cite news|title=Betty E. Brugger, 86|url=https://www.easthamptonstar.com/archive/betty-e-brugger-86|newspaper=The East Hampton Star|date=May 18, 2017|access-date=October 10, 2020}}</ref> was introduced on March 1, 1975; it consisted of bold, uppercase "HBO" text incorporating a [[Bullseye (target)|bullseye]] mark—derived from the [[Tuner (radio)#Television|tuning knobs]] found on then-current television set and cable converter box models—inside the cylindrical "O". Because of inadvertent consumer impressions of the name appearing as "HEO", as the 1975 design had the "O" obscure the "B"{{'}}s double-curve, marketing firm Bemis Balkind modified it into the current trimmer form; introduced in April 1980, it shifted the "O"—now attached to the "B"{{‘}}s full double-curve—"an eighth of an inch" rightward, and slightly widened the spacing of the lettering and bullseye mark.<ref name="Cablevision">{{cite web|title=New Network Look: Hairy, Fat|url=https://www.scribd.com/document/9252967/New-Network-Look-Hairy-Fat|periodical=CableVision|publisher=New York-Group|via=Scribd|pages=7, 10|date=June 7, 1982|access-date=September 28, 2020}}</ref> (The 1975 and 1980 versions were used concurrently in on-air identifications and certain network promos until the former was fully discontinued in June 1981.) The simplicity of the logo makes it fairly easy to duplicate, of which HBO has taken advantage over the years within its imaging; a proprietary typeface adapted from [[ITC Avant Garde]] (which, like the similar [[Kabel (typeface)|Kabel]], had previously been used in some on-air and print marketing dating to 1978) that featured bullseye-like glyphs within the 'D' and 'O' capitals was developed internally in 2008 as a logotype for HBO Sports (including the unit's boxing productions and, by 2012, ''Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel''), the linear HBO high-definition and VOD services, and was later used for the logotype for HBO Go.

[[File: HBO Feature Presentation (1983).jpeg|thumb|right|upright=1.20|Rotating logo segment from the "HBO in Space" feature presentation sequence, used from September 20, 1982, to October 31, 1997]] {{Citation needed|date=December 2024}}
The logo would become widely recognized through a program opening sequence, often nicknamed "HBO in Space", produced in late 1981 by New York City-based production firm [[Liberty Studios]] and used in some capacity from September 20, 1982, to October 31, 1997. (It replaced a series of six film-based animated "HBO Feature Movie" intros used since April 1979, which Canadian pay service [[Crave (TV network)|First Choice Superchannel]] later reused for its 1984–87 movie intros.)<ref>{{cite AV media|title=HBO Intro – Behind the Scenes|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agS6ZXBrcng |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/agS6ZXBrcng |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|via=YouTube|access-date=October 5, 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The original 70-second version begins inside an apartment, where a man tunes a television set's converter box and sits down with his wife to watch HBO. (A variant that begins with a dark cloudscape fading into the city sequence replaced the early version in November 1983.) As the camera pans out of the apartment window, a continuous [[stop motion]] flight (filmed on a computer-controlled camera) occurs over a custom-built model cityscape and countryside set against a painted twilight [[cyclorama]]. After the camera pans skyward at the flight's end, a bursting "stargate" effect (made using two die-cut film slides) occurs, unveiling a [[Chrome plating|chrome-plated]], [[brass]] HBO logo that flies through a [[outer space|starfield]]. As the HBO "[[space station]]" rotates toward the "O", [[ROYGBIV|rainbow-hued]] light rays (created using a [[optical fiber|fiber optic]] lighting rig) encircle that letter's top side—sparkling to reveal its interior wall and a center axis in the bullseye mark area—and streak counter-clockwise inside the "O"{{'}}s inner wall, fading in a slide displaying the program presentation type in three-dimensional, partially [[underline]]d [[Block letters|block text]]—usually the "HBO Feature Presentation" card for theatrical movies, though varied title cards set mainly to custom end signatures of the accompanying theme music (including, among others, ''Standing Room Only'', "HBO Premiere Presentation", "HBO Special", ''On Location'' and "HBO Family Showcase") were used for original programs and weekend prime time films—before more light streaks sweep and shine across the text and create a sparkling fadeout. (An abbreviated version—shown during most non-prime-time programming until October 31, 1986, and thereafter for early-prime-time movie telecasts, aside from premieres and most weekend presentations—commenced from the starburst and the flight of the HBO "space station".)<ref name="yt-hbofp">{{cite AV media|title=HBO 1983 Opening Credits (HBO)|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1NKoMNy5bY |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/i1NKoMNy5bY |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|via=YouTube|date=February 22, 2008|access-date=October 5, 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Most variants of this sequence—except for the feature presentation, "Saturday Night Movie" and "Sunday Night Movie" versions—were discontinued on November 1, 1986. (In September 1993, the latter two versions were discontinued and the "Feature Presentation" variant was extended to all films aired in early prime time, with the full-length version being reintroduced in 1993 for Saturday premieres and Tuesday re-broadcasts.). The regularity of the airings also decreased from 1996, as the later HBO Movie intro took prominence. Variants of the intro are available on YouTube, including one—a previously unaired version including two children sitting with the aforementioned couple—uploaded to HBO's official YouTube channel; the sequence is also used as a movie introduction at the annual HBO [[Bryant Park]] Summer Film Festival (held since 1992, near HBO's now-former New York City headquarters), and a seldom-used "World Premiere Presentation" variant was featured in the intro of the 2019 HBO stand-up comedy special ''[[Dan Soder]]: Son of a Gary''.<ref name="yt-hbofp"/><ref name="medium-hbofp">{{cite web|title=HBO CELEBRATES STANDING AS THE Best Destination for Theatrical Films by Giving Beloved Saturday Night Feature Intro an Update|url=https://medium.com/warnermediaent/hbo-gives-beloved-saturday-night-feature-intro-an-update-e74822a28e3f|author=Time Warner|website=Medium|date=March 3, 2017|access-date=June 22, 2020}}</ref> The twelve-note musical signature of the sequence's orchestral fanfare—originally composed for [[Score Productions]] by Ferdinand Jay Smith III of Jay Advertising, who adapted the theme from the Scherzo movement of [[Antonín Dvořák]]'s [[Symphony No. 9 (Dvořák)|Ninth Symphony]]—eventually became the network's [[sound trademark|audio logo]] in November 1997, being styled in various arrangements (including [[French horn|horns]], guitar and piano, and sometimes arranged as an abridged nine-note variant) within HBO's programming bumpers and network IDs since then. (An extended [[pop rock]] version of the theme, alternately titled "Fantasy", was released as both instrumental and lyrical tracks on Smith's 1985 album "Music Made for Television".<ref>{{cite web|title=Ferdinand Jay – Music Made for Television|url=https://www.discogs.com/Ferdinand-Jay-Music-Made-for-Television/release/15973643|website=Discogs|year=1985 |access-date=April 5, 2021}}</ref>)

Another well-known HBO program opener, designed by [[Pacific Data Images]] in conjunction with the network and commonly nicknamed "Neon Lights", began non-prime-time movie presentations {{Citation needed|date=December 2024}}from November 1, 1986, to October 31, 1997. The sequence, set to a synth and electric guitar theme, begins with a rotation shot of a heliotrope HBO logo on a film strip as blue, green, and pink light rays penetrate it and four radiating CGI slots; one ray then reaches a field of varied-color spheres that zoom outward to reveal a light purple HBO logo, which is overlaid by a cursive magenta "Movie" script against a black and purple sphere-dotted background.<ref>{{cite AV media|title=HBO Movie Intro (1986–1997) [1080p60 VHS]|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZeZ5ralwP0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/MZeZ5ralwP0 |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|via=YouTube|date=September 6, 2018|access-date=September 1, 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Cablecastings: Facelift |periodical=Broadcasting |page=14 |date=September 29, 1986}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=New HBO on-air look |periodical=Television/Radio Age |page=88 |date=October 27, 1986}}</ref>

From 1997 to 1999, known as the "It's on Now" era, HBO went through a phase of trying to figure out their identity. During this era, there were several logos that formed their branding, such as an HBO logo chasing a guy, an HBO logo being crushed by a hand, a running man riding an HBO logo bridge over a lake, in escape, an HBO logo imposed onto the streets, an HBO logo as a celebrity in a limousine, and several others. These also formed the Feature Presentation intros, and from December 1997 to about September 1998, proceeded an intro prelude called "Now." These bumpers and the network's branding was designed by Telezign—also.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=HBO burnishes brand |author=Donna Petrozello |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable |page=54 |date=October 27, 1997}}<br />{{cite magazine |title=HBO burnishes brand |author=Donna Petrozello |periodical=Broadcasting & Cable |page=56 |date=October 27, 1997}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media|title=Full HBO Rebrand made by Telezign – 1997|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0loaY1Ygtm4 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/0loaY1Ygtm4 |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|via=YouTube|date=October 23, 2020|access-date=December 14, 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In September 1999, a new rebrand replaced everything except the various bumpers shown.

A [[Computer-generated imagery|CGI]] feature presentation bumper (designed by Pittard Sullivan) harkening to the 1982 sequence was used from November 6, 1999, to April 1, 2011. It commenced outside a movie theater facade (displaying the HBO logo and the words "Feature Presentation" on the marquee), leading into a trek across countryside road, snowy mountain cliffside, and desert settings—respectively passing under an [[Electric power transmission|electrical transmission tower]] and an above-ground tunnel, and through a [[Tank truck|tank trailer cylinder]] shaped in each letter of the HBO lettermark; a metropolitan neighborhood follows, culminating in a flying leap above a bridge between two skyscrapers, and a slower-speed panning shot above an HBO-lettermark-shaped lake outlined by spotlights before a 3D animation of the "Feature Presentation" text forms. (An abbreviated variant that preceded movies aired outside of weekend prime time excerpts the footage following the skyscraper leap.)<ref>{{cite AV media|title=HBO Feature Presentation: 1999 version|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgdnknJuB74 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/KgdnknJuB74 |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|via=YouTube|date=February 2, 2009|access-date=October 5, 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The premieres of this debut coincided with the exclusive premiere of ''[[Saving Private Ryan]]'', and was a significant viewing event for fans of the movie. This intro came after an extensive broadcast sequencing buildup leading to the broadcast, using the HBO Saturday Night Guarantee branding that was used in the time. It included a clip of the movie, "next" (programming), the HBO Saturday Night Guarantee logo, customized for that broadcast with different music, clips from HBO's upcoming movies, and then a brief auditory/visual intro, before the feature presentation.<ref name="1999FPIntroDebut">{{cite AV media|title=First Time Saving Private Ryan aired on HBO, 1999|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9XXGxrFdUs|via=YouTube|access-date=June 19, 2025|date=January 4, 2022}}</ref> However, the previous bumpers did continue on non-premiere broadcasts, until the feature presentation (via a shorter version starting at the city) was standardized on the network by January 2000, thus replacing the 1997 bumpers for good.

[[File: HBO Movie Presentation (2017).png|thumb|right|upright=1.20|End card from "HBO City" feature presentation sequence, used since March 4, 2017. Bylines appearing beneath the logo differ by channel and daypart: "Movie Premiere" (for Saturday film premieres on the main channel), "Movie Presentation" (used by most HBO channels, except HBO Family, as a generic movie bumper), and "Presentación de Película" (for movies shown on HBO Latino).]]
Another sequence paying homage to the 1982 opening—designed by Imaginary Forces, and accompanied by a Smith-derived theme arranged by Man Made Music—debuted on March 4, 2017. (It replaced a shorter, minimalist intro based around cascading screenshots from theatrical films in HBO's program library that were introduced in April 2014—one of two brief sequences by Viewpoint Creative used between April 2, 2011, and March 3, 2017, that were modeled on the network's graphical imaging, preceded by a 2011–14 sequence designed by Viewpoint contractor Jesse Vartanian that centered on a 4:1 [[aurora]] landscape.)<ref>{{cite web|title=HBO Feature Presentation|url=http://www.jvarta.com/hbo-feature-presentation/|website=Jesse Vartanian|access-date=October 22, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160803085507/http://www.jvarta.com/hbo-feature-presentation/|archive-date=August 3, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=HBO BRANDING & PROMOTION MOTION GRAPHICS|url=https://kielydesign.com/portfolio/hbo-branding-promotion-graphics/|website=Kiely Design|date=May 2017 |access-date=June 30, 2020}}</ref> The live-action/CGI sequence, set inside a [[metropolis]] within the HBO letterforms, features groups of people (respectively a married couple, a pair of teenage siblings watching via [[tablet computer|tablet]] in their bedroom, a family with four children, and a group of adult friends) gathering in their homes to watch an HBO movie; the sequence's second and third living room segments include brief glimpses of the HBO "space station" segment from the 1982 intro. (The full 49-second version is used only for Saturday movie premieres; an eight-second variant—beginning at the reveal of the HBO metropolis letterform—has been used for most film presentations since September 2018. HBO Max has used a four-second variant to open films on its main HBO content portal since it launched in May 2020.)<ref>{{cite web|title=HBO 2017 Feature Presentation Open|url=https://www.imaginaryforces.com/work/hbo-2017-feature-presentation-open|author=Imaginary Forces|access-date=March 14, 2017|archive-date=March 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170315001008/https://www.imaginaryforces.com/work/hbo-2017-feature-presentation-open|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The World of Man Made: HBO Feature Presentation|url=https://www.manmademusic.com/work/hbo-feature-presentations|website=Man Made Music|access-date=June 22, 2020|archive-date=June 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200623033207/https://www.manmademusic.com/work/hbo-feature-presentations|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="medium-hbofp"/><ref>{{cite magazine|title=HBO updates Feature Presentation intro with a nostalgic twist|url=https://ew.com/tv/2017/03/03/hbo-feature-presentation-intro-update/|author=Rachel DeSantis|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=March 3, 2017|access-date=June 22, 2020}}</ref>

Unlike other pay television networks (including the multiplex channels of sister channel Cinemax), HBO does not feature in-program [[digital on-screen graphic|on-screen logo bugs]] on its main feed and multiplex channels; however, until their respective "The Works"-era logos were discontinued in April 2014, channel-specific on-screen bugs were previously shown during promotional breaks between programs on the six thematic HBO multiplex channels.<ref>HBO on-air programming</ref>

===Network slogans===
''Source:''<ref>{{cite AV media|title=YouTube clip of HBO slogans|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVc3DPh-2iQ|via=YouTube|access-date=October 5, 2012}}</ref>
{{col-begin|width=85%}}
{{col-2}}
* '''1972–1975:''' "This is HBO, the Home Box Office. Premium Subscription Television from Time-Life."
* '''1975–1976:''' "Different and First"
* '''1976–1978:''' "The Great Entertainment Alternative"
* '''1978–1979:''' "HBO is Something Else"/"The Best Seat in the House"<ref>{{cite news|title=Advertising|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/01/17/archives/advertising-telling-texas-what-hbo-is-hall-levine-on-its-own-y-r.html|author=Philip H. Dougherty|newspaper=The New York Times|date=January 17, 1978|access-date=October 6, 2020}}</ref>
* '''1979–1981:''' "HBO People Don't Miss Out"<ref>Various publications from 1980 including ''[[People (magazine)|People]]'', ''[[TV Guide]]'' as well as YouTube. Retrieved December 12, 2008.</ref>
* '''1981–1983:''' "Great Movies Are Just the Beginning."<ref>{{cite news|title=THE CABLE-TV SCRAMBLE|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/12/23/arts/the-cable-tv-scramble.html|author=Tony Schwartz|newspaper=The New York Times|date=December 23, 1981|access-date=July 17, 2020}}</ref>
* '''1981–1985:''' "America's Leading Pay TV Network"
* '''1983–1985:''' "There's No Place Like HBO"<ref>{{cite AV media|title=Home Box Office – No Place Like HBO (1983)|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVc3DPh-2iQ|via=YouTube|access-date=October 5, 2012}}</ref>
* '''May–November 1985:''' "Make the Magic Shine" (image theme based on "[[This Is My Night]]" by [[Chaka Khan]])<ref>{{cite AV media|title=HBO Ad – Make The Magic Shine (1985)|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIJjlAgcza4 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/vIJjlAgcza4 |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|via=YouTube|access-date=December 22, 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
* '''1985–1988:''' "Nobody Brings It Home Like HBO"<ref>{{cite AV media|title=November 1985 HBO promos|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SzQPa3ggCA|via=YouTube|access-date=October 5, 2012}}{{cbignore}}{{Dead YouTube link|date=February 2022}}</ref>
* '''1988–1991:''' "The Best Time on TV" (general slogan); "The Best Movies" (promotional slogan for movies)
* '''1988–1993:''' "We're Talkin' Serious Comedy Here" (promotional slogan for comedy specials)
{{col-2}}
* '''1989–1991:''' "Simply the Best" ("[[The Best (song)#Tina Turner version|The Best]]" by [[Tina Turner]] was used as the image theme)
* '''1991–1993:''' "It Could Only Happen Here"
* '''1993–1995:''' "Just You Wait"<ref>{{cite AV media|title=January 26, 1993 HBO Free Preview promos|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC39fybHG74 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/lC39fybHG74 |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|via=YouTube|access-date=August 25, 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
* '''1994–1996:''' "Comedy: It's an HBO Thing" (promotional slogan for comedy specials)
* '''1995–1996:''' "Something Special's On"<ref>{{cite AV media|title=HBO Something Special's on Falling TV Commercial (1996)|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIGXyQRLIHI |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/TIGXyQRLIHI |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|via=YouTube|access-date=October 5, 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
* '''1996–2009:''' "It's Not TV. It's HBO."<ref>{{cite AV media|title=HBO 2002 Bumper It's not TV, It's HBO|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEjnkPkPFzY|via=YouTube|date=July 9, 2008|access-date=October 5, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151226150705/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEjnkPkPFzY|archive-date=December 26, 2015}}</ref>
* '''2006–2009:''' "Get More" (slogan for the HBO website)
* '''2009–2011:''' "It's More Than You Imagined. It's HBO."
* '''2010–2011:''' "This is HBO." (only used for IDs)
* '''2011–2014:''' "It's HBO."
* '''2014–2017:''' "So Original"
* '''2017–2020:''' "It's What Connects Us"
* '''2020–present:''' "There's More to Discover"
{{col-end}}

==International distribution==
{{main|List of HBO international channels}}
Since 1991, the Home Box Office, Inc. oversaw the expansion of HBO's service to international markets, establishing three major subsidiaries in Latin America, Europe, and Asia, as well as forming several distribution partnerships to syndicate HBO programs to other broadcast networks, cable channels, and video services on request outside the United States.

[[HBO Latin America]] was launched in 1991 as a partnership between Warner Bros. and Omnivisión ([[Ole Distribution|Ole]]), which was later joined by Sony and Disney. The Brazilian channel was launched in 1994. It is available in [[Hispanic America]], including the [[Caribbean]]. Disney and Sony left the shareholding in 2010 and Ole Communications in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tbivision.com/2020/05/05/warnermedia-preps-for-hbo-maxs-latin-american-roll-out-after-completing-ole-deal/|title=WarnerMedia preps for HBO Max's Latin American roll-out after completing Ole deal|website=tbivision.com|date=May 5, 2020 |access-date=5 May 2020}}</ref> HBO Max OTT service is available.

[[HBO Europe]] was launched in Budapest in 1991 in partnership with [[Sony]], which was joined by [[Disney]] in 1996. After its launch in Hungary, it has expanded to several [[Central Europe]]an and [[Balkan]] countries such as the Czech Republic in 1994, Poland in 1996, Slovakia in 1997, Romania in 1998, Moldova in 1999, Bulgaria in 2001, Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2006, and Northern Macedonia in 2009. It was also available in the Netherlands from 2012 to 2016 through a partnership with the Dutch cable operator [[Ziggo]]. In 2010, HBO bought the shares of [[Sony]] and [[Disney]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2010/01/29/hbo-completes-central-europe-acquisition/|title=HBO completes Central Europe acquisition|website=broadbandtvnews.com|date=January 29, 2010 |access-date=29 January 2010}}</ref> HBO programs are available as well through the HBO Max OTT service. Furthermore, the programs are available exclusively through HBO Max in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands.

[[HBO Asia]] was launched in 1992 in Singapore as a partnership with [[Singtel]] and was later joined by Sony and UIP ([[Universal Pictures|Universal]] and [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]]). This was followed by an enlargement of Thailand and the Philippines in 1993, Taiwan and Indonesia in 1994, Hong Kong and Malaysia in 1995, and Vietnam in 2005. It has also been available in other [[Southeast Asian]] countries from 1997 to 2020 such as Brunei, Cambodia, South Korea, Macau, Myanmar, Mongolia, Nepal, Palau, Pope New Guinea, and Sri Lanka.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://hboasia.com/HBO/en-sg/about/milestones |title=Milestones – HBO Asia |website=hboasia.com |access-date=18 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181018084750/http://hboasia.com/HBO/en-sg/about/milestones |archive-date=18 October 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[HBO South Asia]] has been a subsidiary of HBO Asia since 2000 broadcasting in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and the Maldives, which closed in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/10/15/warnermedia-to-discontinue-hbo-and-wb-tv-channels-in-india-and-select-other-south-asia-markets/|title=WarnerMedia to discontinue HBO and WB TV channels in India, and select other South Asia markets|date=15 October 2020|website=techcrunch.com}}</ref> Singtel left the joint venture, being followed in 2008 by Sony and Universal.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/sony-nbc-exit-hbo-asia-102801/|title=Sony, NBC exit HBO Asia alliance|website=hollywoodreporter.com|date=January 17, 2008 |access-date=17 January 2008}}</ref> The on-demand video program in Southeast and South Asia is still on the old HBO Go platform as of April 2022, while Max being planned for launch in late 2024.

HBO programs are also distributed through agreements with third parties and are available on premium TV channels of local operators: [[Fox Showcase]] in Australia, [[Be 1]] in Belgium, [[HBO Canada]] (brand and programming licensed under agreement with [[Bell Media]]), [[Amazon Prime Video]] in France,<ref name="france3">{{cite web|url=https://www.lesnumeriques.com/svod/amazon-prime-video-tout-savoir-sur-le-futur-pass-warner-n203407.html|title=Amazon Prime Video: tout savoir sur le futur Pass Warner|access-date=January 16, 2023|date=January 16, 2023|website=Les Numériques|author=Thibaud Gomès-Léal}}</ref> Sky Atlantic in [[Sky Atlantic|the United Kingdom and Ireland]], [[Sky Atlantic (Italy)|Italy]], [[Sky Atlantic (Germany)|Germany, Austria and Switzerland]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/media/a279695/sky-to-launch-sky-atlantic-channel/|title=Sky to launch Sky Atlantic channel|website=digitalspy.com|date=October 2010 |access-date=1 October 2010}}</ref> [[HBO (New Zealand)|HBO]] in New Zealand,<ref>{{cite web |title=Sky New Zealand and Warner Bros Discovery announce new partnership |url=https://stoppress.co.nz/news/sky-new-zealand-and-warner-bros-discovery-announce-new-partnership/ |website=StopPress |access-date=23 October 2024 |date=22 October 2024}}</ref> [[M-Net|M-Net Binge]] in Sub-Saharan Africa, [[OSN|OSN First Series]] in the Middle East and North Africa<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.digitaltveurope.com/2022/01/13/osn-extends-licensing-agreement-as-mena-home-of-hbo/|title=OSN extends licensing agreement as MENA home of HBO|website=digitaltveurope.com|date=January 13, 2022 |access-date=13 January 2022}}</ref> and [[JioCinema]] in India. Apart from TV channels, the programs can also be watched on the OTT platforms of the operators. In Japan, it is exclusively available on [[U-Next]] video-on-demand service.

===Miscellaneous===
Starting in 2004, the 2002 rebrand for the network was simultaneously standardized for all of the other channels, except HBO Family. However, voiceovers were omitted from the outer channels. This meant that the MPAA bumpers, then voiced by Michael Carroll, a longtime veteran voiceover for TV, including CBS and commercial breaks on WPIX, had the voiceovers omitted, as well as the "next"/"tonight" bumpers.

==="It's not TV. It's HBO"===
While "It's not TV. It's HBO" was introduced as a tagline in 1996, it wasn't really used until 1997, and even then it was sparingly. During the "It's on Now" era (December 1997 - September 1999) brand, an era criticized for B-star antics and branding (compared to Cinemax, which constantly topped HBO in blockbuster exclusive premieres and original series at the time), it increasingly got used, but it wasn't until the September 1999 rebrand, and HBO's entrance into consistent original programming production that the phrase became commonplace on the network's promotions and promo breaks. ''[[Sex and the City]]'' was the show that kicked off "It's not TV. It's HBO." The motto was displayed during the broadcast buildup of the 8 PM exclusive premiere of ''[[Saving Private Ryan]]'' on November 6, 1999, just before the debut of the HBO City feature presentation (1999 - 2011). The broadcast buildup consisted of a preview showing the emotional clips from the movie, a somewhat intense HBO promotional campaign showcasing upcoming titles and programming, then a [[public service announcement|PSA]]-type prelude showcasing more clips of the movie, and items from the movie, and then the motto, followed by the debut of the HBO City FP intro, which was first used for this movie, and the MPAA ratings bumpers afterwards.<ref name="1999FPIntroDebut" />

==See also==
* [[List of Primetime Emmy Awards received by HBO]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group="note"}}<references group="lower-alpha" />

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website|https://hbo.com/}}
* [https://www.hbo.com/schedule HBO Program Schedules]

{{HBO}}
{{HBONetwork Shows|state=expanded}}
{{Navboxes|list1=
{{Warner Bros. Discovery}}
{{U.S. premium television services}}
{{U.S. movie television channels}}
{{Sports television in the United States}}
}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:HBO| ]]
[[Category:1972 establishments in New York City]]
[[Category:Cable television in the United States]]
[[Category:Commercial-free television networks in the United States]]
[[Category:Home Box Office, Inc.]]
[[Category:Movie channels in the United States]]
[[Category:English-language television stations in the United States]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1972]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. Discovery networks]]
[[Category:Peabody Award winners]]
[[Category:International Emmy Founders Award winners]]
[[Category:Television networks in the United States]]