HBO Max is throwing error messages this evening, particularly bad timing given that it's the Mare of Easttown finale, and the premiere of the new season of In Treatment, starring Uzo Aduba.
Reports of what essentially is a pretty major outage are rolling in on the social media service, as well as on Reddit. HBO Max and the legacy HBO Go and HBO Now services are all lighting up Down Detector, which documents real-time reports of outages.
The HBOMaxHelp Twitter account finally chimed in around 10:30 p.m. Eastern time, saying that it was aware that "some customers may be experiencing issues streaming HBO Max."
The HBO Max down time is particularly embarrassing given that it comes just as the service was celebrating its first birthday — and just after parent company AT&T announced it was unburdening itself from the entertainment and streaming business by unloading WarnerMedia. In its first 12 months, HBO Max has amassed nearly 41 million subscribers. on its own, and it's poised to enter a whole new era after it combines forces with Discovery.
(And not to bounce the rubble, but HBO Go and HBO Now had a major hiccup as the final season of Game of Thrones premiered in 2019. Streaming is hard, y'all.)
The HBO Max outage also comes as the service prepares for its first major international push, with some 39 countries and territories in Latin America set to gain access to the service on June 29.
We’re aware some customers may be experiencing issues streaming #HBOMax and appreciate your patience as we work to resolve this as quickly as possible.May 31, 2021
Not idea, @hbomax @HBOMaxHelp. Maybe just tell me who did it on #MareOfEastown pic.twitter.com/8IZHmVCT7JMay 31, 2021
The only "good" news about outages is that they eventually end. So there's a decent chance that by the time you read this, HBO Max will be up and running again.
But there's also a good chance that by the time that happens you'll have given up and will have to avoid Mare spoilers for a few hours. Good thing Monday is a federal holiday.
