I agree, as a consumer the whole two HBO app thing is super confusing. This article is the first explanation I've seen and now it makes total sense; yes, they

I agree, as a consumer the whole two HBO app thing is super confusing. This article is the first explanation I've seen and now it makes total sense; yes, they clearly shipped the org chart. (Another great example, on iOS, is that there are two Merrill Lynch apps with basically the same exact features and UIs). Since a user typically only has to log in once in a while, it looks like HBO's gambit of adding lots of friction to the sign-up process vs getting video shipped really paid off.