HBO in the context of Video game live streaming

The live streaming of video games is an activity where people broadcast themselves playing games to a live audience online. The practice became popular in the mid-2010s on the US-based site Twitch, before growing to YouTube, Facebook, China-based sites Huya Live, DouYu, and Bilibili, and other services. By 2014, Twitch streams had more traffic than HBO's online streaming service, HBO Go. Professional streamers often combine high-level play and entertaining commentary, and earn income from sponsors, subscriptions, ad revenue, and donations.

Both AAA and indie developers have circumvented rising development costs by utilizing the free advertising live streaming provides. Independent titles such as Fall Guys, Rocket League, and Among Us are examples of games that have experienced a huge increase in player base as a result of streaming. Esports have also gained significant traction and attention from the accessibility of live streaming, and streaming has even been used as a method to raise awareness of social issues and money for charity.

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It was formed from WarnerMedia's spin-off by AT&T and merger with Discovery, Inc. on April 8, 2022.

The company operates via two divisions: Streaming & Studios and Global Linear Networks. S&S includes the flagship Warner Bros. studios, HBO, DC Entertainment, and the company's streaming services. GLN largely includes advertising-supported cable networks. Those networks were inherited from its predecessors Discovery (such as Discovery Channel among others), Scripps Networks Interactive (such as HGTV among others), and Turner Broadcasting System (such as Cartoon Network, CNN, TBS, and TNT). Warner Bros. Discovery International is also included in the division, which manages broadcasting operations outside of the United States.

David Friedman (/ˈfriːdmən/; born September 25, 1970), known professionally as David Benioff (/ˈbɛniɒf/), is an American novelist, screenwriter, and producer. Along with his collaborator D. B. Weiss, he is best known for co-creating Game of Thrones (2011–2019), the HBO adaptation of George R. R. Martin's series of books, A Song of Ice and Fire. He also wrote 25th Hour (2002), Troy (2004), The Kite Runner (2007), City of Thieves (2008), co-wrote X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), and Gemini Man (2019).

Lisa Valerie Kudrow (/ˈkuːdroʊ/ KOO-droh; born July 30, 1963) is an American actress and writer. She rose to international fame for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the American television sitcom Friends, which aired from 1994 to 2004. The series earned her Primetime Emmy, Screen Actors Guild, Satellite, American Comedy and TV Guide awards. Phoebe has since been named one of the greatest television characters of all time and is considered to be Kudrow's breakout role, spawning her successful film career.

Kudrow initially appeared in a 1989 episode of the hit sitcom Cheers playing a character named Emily. She also starred in several episodes of the show Mad About You (1993) as Ursula, before auditioning and earning the role of Phoebe on Friends; her character on Mad About You was written into the Friends storyline as Phoebe's twin. In the late 1990s, Kudrow starred in the cult comedy film Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997) and followed it with an acclaimed performance in the comedy/drama The Opposite of Sex (1998), which won her the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress and a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female. She created, produced, wrote, and starred in the HBO mockumentary series The Comeback, which initially lasted for one season in 2005 but was revived for a critically acclaimed second season in 2014 and has since been announced to return for a third season in 2026. She was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for both seasons.

Hulu (/ˈhuːluː/, HOO-loo) is an American subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It is one of the most-subscribed video on demand streaming media services, with 64.1 million paid memberships. Its headquarters are located in Los Angeles, California, with offices in Santa Monica, California (the former West Coast bureau for HBO), New York City, and Seattle, Washington. Hulu was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as a joint venture between News Corporation and NBC Universal; Providence Equity, Disney, and Time Warner later made investments in the service.

Hulu originally served as an aggregator, streaming recent episodes of programs from the companies' television networks (including ABC, NBC, and Fox). In 2010, Hulu launched a subscription service, initially branded as "Hulu Plus," which featured full seasons of programs from the companies and other partners, and access to new episodes immediately after their airing. In 2016, Hulu syndicated its free library to Yahoo in order to focus exclusively on Hulu Plus. In 2017, the company launched "Hulu + Live TV"—a superset of Hulu Plus also offering access to broadcast and cable television channels.

Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, but also increasingly via digital terrestrial and streaming television. In the United States, subscription television began in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the form of encrypted analog over-the-air broadcast television which could be decrypted with special equipment. The concept rapidly expanded through the multi-channel transition and into the post-network era. Other parts of the world beyond the United States, such as France and Latin America have also offered encrypted analog terrestrial signals available for subscription.

The term is most synonymous with premium entertainment services focused on films or general entertainment programming such as, in the United States, Cinemax, HBO, MGM+, Showtime, and Starz, but such services can also include those devoted to sports, as well as adult entertainment.

HBO Go is an authenticated video-on-demand streaming service of the pay television network HBO. The service originally allowed subscribers to access HBO's on-demand programming via the HBO website, mobile apps, and digital media players, among other devices, through their television providers.

Warner Media, LLC (doing business as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment business owned by AT&T. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City and primarily operated in filmed entertainment and cable television.

The company's history traces back to the Kinney National Company, which purchased several entertainment companies during the 1960s and 1970s, (most notably Warner Bros.-Seven Arts). By 1972, Kinney separated its non-media businesses into an independent company, and renamed itself to Warner Communications. After merging with Time Inc., the new company became Time Warner Inc. on January 10, 1990, and kept that name for 28 years. In 2001, AOL merged with Time Warner, in a deal that came to be regarded as the "worst merger in history." Following years of downsizing, Time Warner simply owned Warner Bros., Turner Broadcasting, and HBO by 2014. Despite spinning off Time Inc. that year, it kept the "Time Warner" name until 2018, when it was acquired by AT&T for $108.7 billion and renamed to WarnerMedia.

Warner Bros. Discovery International (formerly Turner Broadcasting System International and WarnerMedia International) is the international unit of Warner Bros. Discovery Global Linear Networks led by President Gerhard Zeiler. The unit oversees the production, broadcasting and promotion of its key brands outside of the United States. These brands include Adult Swim, Animal Planet, Boomerang, Cartoon Network, Discovery Channel, HBO, TLC, TBS, TNT, and Warner TV. The networks' headquarters are located in London. Other international offices are located in São Paulo, Santiago, Mexico City, Amsterdam, Warsaw, Milan, Mumbai, Paris, Singapore, Bogotá, and Auckland amongst others.

Daniel Brett Weiss (/waɪs/; born April 23, 1971) is an American screenwriter and television producer. Along with his collaborator David Benioff, he is best-known for co-creating Game of Thrones (2011–2019), the HBO adaptation of George R. R. Martin's series of books, A Song of Ice and Fire. He also wrote and produced the 2022 American teen comedy-drama Metal Lords.

Game of Thrones is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire, a series of high fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first of which is A Game of Thrones. The show premiered on HBO in the United States on April 17, 2011, and concluded on May 19, 2019, with 73 episodes broadcast over eight seasons.

Set on the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos, Game of Thrones has a large ensemble cast and follows several story arcs throughout the course of the show. The first major arc concerns the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros through a web of political conflicts among the noble families either vying to claim the throne or fighting for independence. The second major arc focuses on the last descendant of the realm's deposed ruling dynasty, who has been exiled to Essos and is plotting to return and reclaim the throne. The third follows the Night's Watch, a military order defending the realm against threats from beyond the Seven Kingdoms' northern border.

Brian Cox is a Scottish actor known for his performances on stage and screen, for which he has received two BAFTA Awards, an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and two Olivier Awards.

Cox won the Primetime Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series for his portrayal of Hermann Göring in the television film Nuremberg (2001). The following year he guest starred on the NBC sitcom Frasier earning his second Emmy nomination in 2002. He portrayed Jack Langrishe in the HBO series Deadwood. He starred as Logan Roy on HBO series Succession (2018–2023), for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series and was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series.

Brendan Gleeson is an Irish actor known for his performances in television and film.

He has received various awards including a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his role as Winston Churchill in the HBO film Into the Storm (2009). He has also received nominations for two BAFTA Awards (In Bruges (2008), and Into the Storm (2009)) and five Golden Globe Awards (In Bruges (2008), Into the Storm (2009), The Guard (2011), The Comey Rule (2020), and The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)).

Domhnall Gleeson (/ˈdoʊnəl/ DOH-nəl; born 12 May 1983) is an Irish actor and screenwriter. The son of actor Brendan Gleeson, he studied media arts at the Dublin Institute of Technology. He began his career by directing and writing several short films, and garnered a Tony Award nomination in 2006 for his role in the Broadway production The Lieutenant of Inishmore. He had a supporting role in Never Let Me Go (2010) and became known to a wider audience for his portrayal of Bill Weasley in the last two entries of the Harry Potter film series (2010–2011).

Gleeson had starring roles in the period drama Anna Karenina (2012), the romantic comedy About Time (2013), the Black Mirror episode "Be Right Back" (2013), and the war drama Unbroken (2014). His career progressed with roles in the films Ex Machina (2014), Brooklyn (2015), The Revenant (2015) and Peter Rabbit (2018), as well as for his role as General Armitage Hux in the Star Wars sequel trilogy (2015–2019). In 2020, he had a main role in the HBO black comedy series Run. In 2023, he received a Golden Globe nomination for his role in the limited series The Patient, and also starred in the satirical political miniseries White House Plumbers. In 2025, he starred as the lead in the The Office spinoff series The Paper.

Julia Fiona Roberts (born October 28, 1967) is an American actress. Known for her leading roles across various genres, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and three Golden Globe Awards. She became known for portraying charming and relatable characters in romantic comedies and blockbusters, before expanding into dramas, thrillers, and independent films. The films in which she has starred have collectively grossed over $3.9 billion worldwide, making her one of Hollywood's most bankable stars, while the media nicknamed her "America's Sweetheart" in recognition of her widespread popularity and on and off-screen charisma.

After early breakthroughs in Mystic Pizza (1988) and Steel Magnolias (1989), Roberts solidified her status as a leading lady with the romantic comedies Pretty Woman (1990), My Best Friend's Wedding (1997), Notting Hill (1999), and Runaway Bride (1999). Roberts won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of the title role in the biographical drama Erin Brockovich (2000). She then starred in films such as Ocean's Eleven (2001), Ocean's Twelve (2004), Charlie Wilson's War (2007), Valentine's Day (2010), Eat Pray Love (2010), August: Osage County (2013), Wonder (2017), Ticket to Paradise (2022), Leave the World Behind (2023), and After the Hunt (2025). On television, she starred as a physician during the AIDS crisis in the HBO film The Normal Heart (2014), for which she earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination, a social worker in the first season of the streaming series Homecoming (2018), and portrayed Martha Mitchell in the Starz political limited series Gaslit (2022).

Dominic McLaughlin (born c. 2013–2014) is a Scottish actor. He is known for being cast as Harry Potter in the upcoming HBO television adaptation. He currently plays the role of Martin in the CBBC series Gifted (2025–present). Before landing the role, McLaughlin trained at the Performance Academy Scotland and appeared in theatre, most notably in a production of Macbeth, and was cast in other screen projects including the film Grow (2025), his debut film appearance.

Arabella Stanton (born 11 April 2014) is a British actress. In May 2025, she was confirmed to be cast as Hermione Granger in HBO's upcoming Harry Potter television series.