Media & Entertainment

HBO Color Codes

HBO works in black, hex #000000, on white. The HBO color codes in Hex, RGB and CMYK can be found below. Home Box Office launched in 1972 as the first pay-television channel in the United States, sent first by microwave relay and then, from 1975, by satellite. Its nearest peer on this site is Max.

The HBO logo, shown for identification. HBO is a trademark of its owner and this site is not affiliated with it.

Primary colors

What are HBO Primary Colors?

HBO's primary color is #000000. Every value on this page is derived from it.

HBO runs a black-and-white identity; the values shown are black and white.

HBO Primary

Hex	#000000
RGB	0, 0, 0
HSL	hsl(0, 0%, 0%)
CMYK	0%, 0%, 0%, 100%converted · approximate
Pantone	PMS 419 Cnearest match · not published by the brand

HBO Hex Color Codes

HBO hex color codes are #000000 for primary.

Color	Hex
Primary	#000000

HBO RGB Color Codes

HBO RGB color codes are 0, 0, 0 for primary. Reach for RGB when a tool wants channel numbers or a CSS alpha value.

Color	RGB
Primary	rgb(0, 0, 0)

HBO HSL Color Codes

HBO HSL color codes are 0, 0%, 0% for primary. Change the third value for a lighter or darker version without moving the hue.

Color	HSL
Primary	hsl(0, 0%, 0%)

HBO CMYK Color Code

HBO CMYK color codes are conversions from the hex, because the brand publishes none. Check a printed proof before a full run.

Color	CMYK
Primary	0%, 0%, 0%, 100%

HBO Pantone Color Codes

HBO Pantone color codes are nearest matches by color distance, not brand specs. The table shows the closest swatch for every color.

Color	Nearest Pantone
Primary	PMS 419 C

Logo

HBO Logo Colors

HBO logo colors are black on white, the three letters with a dot inside the O.

HBO Logo Colors Palette

What the HBO Logo Colors Mean?

The HBO logo is black because the channel's whole pitch, summed up as it's not TV, it's HBO, was that it was more like cinema than broadcast. The small circle floating inside the O is sometimes read as the static between channels or a spotlight; either way it is the one flourish in an otherwise stark mark.

HBO Logo Color History

HBO logo color history has essentially none. The letters with the dotted O were designed in 1975 by Bemis Balkind and have run in black and white ever since, with only minor changes to the weight.

HBO Logo Fonts

HBO logo fonts are a custom bold sans, wide with the eye inside the O. A neo-grotesque like Helvetica Bold is the closest match.

HBO Logo JPG

HBO logo in JPG. No transparency, so it is flattened onto white. Safe for documents and slide decks.

Download JPG Trademark of its owner, shown for identification.

HBO Logo PNG

HBO logo in PNG, with a transparent background. Use it over a colored surface.

Download PNG Trademark of its owner, shown for identification.

HBO Logo WebP

HBO logo in WebP. Same transparency as the PNG at about a third of the file size.

Download WEBP Trademark of its owner, shown for identification.

HBO Color Code Shades

HBO color code shades step evenly from the primary toward black, for hover states, borders and shadows.

These are interface steps, not HBO paint or trim names.

In code

Using the HBO palette

CSS custom properties

:root {
  --hbo-primary: #000000;
}

Contrast against white

Primary	21.00:1AA ✓

Brand colors are chosen for recognition, not for legibility. A failing value here is normal. It means use it as a fill, not as text.