HBO Now and Go let you have virtual watch parties over video chat

Watch synchronized TV shows and movies with up to 20 people.

Abrar Al-Heeti Video producer / CNET

Abrar Al-Heeti is a video host and producer for CNET, with an interest in internet trends, entertainment, pop culture and digital accessibility. Before joining the video team, she was a writer for CNET's culture team. She graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Though Illinois is home, she now loves San Francisco -- steep inclines and all.

Expertise Abrar has spent her career at CNET breaking down the latest trends on TikTok, Twitter and Instagram, while also reporting on diversity and inclusion initiatives in Hollywood and Silicon Valley. Credentials

Named a Tech Media Trailblazer by the Consumer Technology Association in 2019, a winner of SPJ NorCal's Excellence in Journalism Awards in 2022 and has twice been a finalist in the LA Press Club's National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards.

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Abrar Al-Heeti

May 14, 2020 3:06 p.m. PT

A partnership with Scener allows HBO Now and Go customers to co-watch shows and movies with friends over video chat.
Scener/HBO

HBO is partnering with "virtual movie theater" company Scener to let HBO Now and HBO Go customers co-watch shows and movies with friends over video chat. The feature works using Scener's Virtual Movie Theater application on Google Chrome.

The feature comes as the COVID-19 pandemic has shuttered brick-and-mortar movie theaters around the world, and created an opportunity for companies to leverage their communication platforms.

To create a virtual theater, HBO Now and Go subscribers can download Scener's free extension from the Chrome Web Store on Windows, Mac, or Chromebook devices. They can then host watch parties with synchronized entertainment over video chat with up to 20 people. Scener says it'll soon allow users to host or join larger watch events.