
HBO Now is currently only available on Apple devices due to an exclusivity deal between the two companies. Apple’s exclusivity deal is expected to end in about a month and, unsurprisingly, it looks like the Google Play Store will be the next platform to get the new service. The announcement was made during today’s big Google I/O keynote presentation. No specifics were given during the announcement, but HBO has said the service will arrive on Android “this summer” with support for casting to Chromecast devices. Interestingly, the announcement was made during the Chromecast portion of Google’s keynote, not during the brief Android TV portion. It wouldn’t surprise me if HBO Now was initially incompatible with Android TV when it arrives in the Google Play Store.
This announcement is good news for Fire TV users since it doesn’t take much to release a Fire TV version of the app once HBO finishes their Android version. We may even be able to sideload and use the Android version on Fire TV devices while we wait for official support from HBO.