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Apple’s big event is underway: First up, HBO is coming to Apple TV without a pay TV subscription

Updated Mar 9th, 2015 1:19PM EDT

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Apple is going to try to compete with Swiss watchmakers? Is it crazy? A $5,000 Apple Watch? A $10,000 Apple Watch? The battery will only last for a few hours, and no one will want to get rid of their fancy Rolexes and switch to a smartwatch!

Did we cover all the most common complaints of skeptics? We undoubtedly missed a few, and Apple is certainly no stranger to skepticism…

But now it’s time to put all of that behind us and find out exactly what Apple has in store for us with its upcoming new Apple Watch. When will it launch? How will apps work? How much will it cost? All these questions and more will be answered during Apple’s big Apple Watch event on Monday, and now the show is officially underway.

For the latest breaking news from the Apple Watch event, visit our event hub!

Apple CEO Tim Cook started his company’s big event off on Monday by going through some numbers, as he often does, and discussing the current state of affairs at Apple. With that out of the way, we got our first big news from the event: HBO is coming to Apple TV!

Of course, there has been an HBO Go app on Apple TV forever, but this is something different — HBO is coming to Apple TV without a pay TV subscription.

Apple will be the exclusive launch partner for HBO Now, which is a standalone HBO streaming service that will be available without a pay TV subscription.

The service will launch in April in time for the Game of Thrones season 5 premiere on April 12th, and subscribers will get one month for free. After that, HBO Now will cost $14.99 per month.

Here’s the official promo video for HBO Now:

Remember: Here’s how to watch live streaming video from the event!

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.