If you've recently tried watching a movie or television show using the HBO Max app on your Apple TV 4K, you may have run into an issue where clicking to manage something popped an error.
That error wouldn't say that the app could not play the content requested. I ran into this issue when trying to watch the latest episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. The attack covered the FIFA World Cup, and due to several controversies related to the event, I almost thought HBO had pulled the episode due to a joke or something Oliver had said during the show.
It turns out that the HBO Max app was just broken instead of that. I guess that's better than censorship, but it means that many more people cannot watch the content they are paying for on the app.
HBO says that it is working on a fix
HBO's statement to The Verge says it is aware of the issue. According to the report, the "can't play title" error currently affects all generations of the Apple TV 4K if they are running tvOS 16.1 and have software version 52.50.1 of the HBO Max app installed. That version of the streaming app was released on November 16, 2022, so it appears something in that update is the culprit.
Chris Willard, HBO's Senior Vice President of Communications, told the outlet that the company is "aware and working on a fix." However, the company did not explain when they expected the issue to be resolved. Instead, Willard said that the development and support teams are working actively to find a fix and to keep a lookout for another update shortly.
The issue even affects the new Apple TV 4K (2022), which Apple launched just last month. The new Apple TV 4K features several upgrades, including the A15 Bionic processor, support for HDR10+, and a much lower price point.
