HBO shows are late on Apple TV HBO channel subscription
I am highly dissatisfied with the performance of my HBO channel subscription through Apple TV. Shows are not updated promptly; they lag behind when they should be available..
When Apple TV subscriptions came out this spring, I liked the idea of being able to stream HBO East and West live (as if I had TV), and also to download content for offline viewing. These were big pluses, and yes, they work. But shows are available for streaming and viewing much later than they should be. For example, Real Time with Bill Maher is always posted to HBO GO and HBO NOW by 7 am on Saturday mornings after its live premier on Friday nights. It’s 3:30 pm on Saturday now, and it’s still not available to stream or download through the HBO channel subscription, though! Saturday premier movies are available on HBO GO and HBO NOW as soon as they are broadcast on HBO East, but they can take a day at least to show up on the HBO channel subscription.
In the past, at different times, I’ve had HBO GO and HBO NOW and have been very satisfied with them. Shows are always posted on time. I believe that HBO teamed with the digital division of Major League Baseball to run HBO GO and HBO NOW, and they do a fantastic job. I believe that the Apple TV HBO channel subscription content is managed instead by Apple themselves. If Apple doesn’t plan to match the content of the Apple TV HBO channel subscription with that of HBO GO and HBO NOW, they should prominently disclose this and let us know when to expect shows to be posted.
I am strongly considering cancelling my Apple TV subscription and going back to the HBO GO or HBO NOW apps instead, at least until this is resolved.
Are other subscribers seeing the same thing? Is it happening with other Apple TV channels like Showtime?
