Coronavirus Lockdown: HBO Offers Free Streaming Of Blockbuster Movies To Encourage People To Stay At Home

Amidst the global lockdown to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, premium television network giant HBO has decided to encourage its fans to stay at home by offering 500 hours of free streaming of blockbuster movies and top-rated TVshows, without a subscription.

HBO in a press release on Thursday stated that in order “To provide some entertainment relief for those doing their part to keep everyone safe and healthy in this time of social isolation, HBO is making almost 500 hours of top programming available to stream for free for a limited time on HBO NOW and HBO GO–without a subscription ”

Starting from April 3, Friday, the premium cable network will allow free streaming of around 20 Warner Bros. movies along with hit shows like "The Sopranos" and "The Wire".

“The list of free programming includes every episode of nine iconic HBO series such as The Sopranos, Veep, Six Feet Under and The Wire; major Warner Bros. blockbusters from HBO’s current catalog like Pokémon Detective Pikachu, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part and Crazy, Stupid, Love; and 10 riveting HBO documentaries and docu-series including McMillion$ and The Case Against Adnan Syed,” the statement said.

By downloading HBO NOW or HBO GO apps or by visiting HBONOW.com or HBOGO.com, viewers can stream their favorite shows for free without a subscription.

There has been a massive hike in the viewership rates for online streaming services and video-on-demand releases over the past weeks.

HBO came up with the new offer noticing the current trend. With rival networks like Disney+ seeing a burst of new subscribers by almost tripling their subscription numbers, HBO has decided to stay in the game by providing some free entertainment options in a bid to attract more subscribers.

The competition between the network giants will only continue to heat up as HBO is all set to launch its HBO Max subscription starting from May this year.

“The content will also be made available for free via participating distribution partners’ platforms in the coming days. This is the first time HBO has made this volume of programming available outside of the paywall on HBO NOW & HBO GO,” the statement added.