HBO/HBO Max

[millennium]

I find Max so depressing.

I used to pull up HBO MAX with a sense of anticipation, like "what good show can I watch tonight?"   The HBO name had a certain prestige and a reputation for quality.  

Tonight I logged in and the wall-to-wall promo on the main screen was for the Property Brothers.

There goes the neighborhood.

I don't want to be reminded the Property Brothers exist.   And I sure don't want to watch any site that hosts Guy Fieri, Dr. Pimple Popper or 90-Day Fucking Fiance.

But here I am, forced to cohabitate if I want to continue watching the shows I have been enjoying on HBO.

I feel like the site has been occupied by a foreign enemy.

[Milburn Stone]

2 hours ago, millennium said:

There goes the neighborhood.

Last night when I logged on, the promo on the main screen wasn't the Property Brothers, but that reality show about the woman real estate agent selling 7-figure homes in Los Angeles.

I share your chagrin.

There's another problem with Max. It dovetails with the integration of Discovery, although it's not the same thing. Around the time HBO Max launched, the guy in charge at that time said something really smart. To paraphrase: "We're not going to be one of those platforms where you scroll and scroll forever through listings under different headings. We're going to offer a wide--but finite--selection. We have the content to offer infinite scrolling if we want to, but we don't want to. Why? Because when people have infinite choice, they never make a choice. They never land on anything."

Welcome to Max.

 

[millennium]

7 hours ago, Milburn Stone said:

We have the content to offer infinite scrolling if we want to, but we don't want to. Why? Because when people have infinite choice, they never make a choice. They never land on anything."

There may be some logic to the finite choice theory, but I don't think infinite choice is the real problem -- it's low-quality choices.   I have lost hours of my life poring over Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and HBO Max's catalogues looking for something/anything to watch, often finding nothing worth my time.   It's the 21st century equivalent of going to the local video store and staring at the wall of titles for something/anything to watch because all the good movies have already been rented out for the night.

Many if not most good movies and shows (new and old) are not on the streaming platforms (with the exception of Amazon, but you have to pay extra for them). That just leaves a lot of Dr. Pimple Popper and movies produced by the SyFy network.   Max just became a clearinghouse for probably half of the "meh" to "hell no" shows and movies out there.

[Milburn Stone]

18 hours ago, millennium said:

It's the 21st century equivalent of going to the local video store and staring at the wall of titles for something/anything to watch because all the good movies have already been rented out for the night.

I too thought of the parallel to the Blockbuster days, but I do think (in my case) the paralysis was not a function of all the good movies being gone, but of so much choice. I can guarantee that on any given visit, at least ten of the available movies would have been quite enjoyable to me, but with hundreds and hundreds of movies to choose from, I kept looking for something "better" than those. Which, conversely, made all those "good enough" movies not good enough. YMMV.

Also, back to streaming, it's just plain annoying to be scrolling down and down and eventually discovering that there is no bottom. I didn't sign on for Journey to the Center of the Earth.

Edited June 5, 2023 by Milburn Stone

[millennium]

3 hours ago, Milburn Stone said:

Also, back to streaming, it's just plain annoying to be scrolling down and down and eventually discovering that there is no bottom. I didn't sign on for Journey to the Center of the Earth.

The downside I see to endless choices is that it fosters a false hope that if I keep searching, eventually something of value can be found.   Reminds me of that old joke about the kid who keeps digging deeper and deeper into a huge pile of horseshit.   When somebody asks him why, he says he figures that there must be a pony under there somewhere

[DanaK]

Warner Bros Discovery is in talks to license several HBO original series to Netflix on a non-exclusive basis, meaning they would still remain on Max. The article didn’t say whether this is US-only

https://deadline.com/2023/06/warner-bros-discovery-in-talks-to-license-hbo-original-series-to-netflix-1235421444/

[DanaK]

HBO will begin licensing some of its shows to Netflix on a non-exclusive basis, starting with "Insecure" (which will still stream on Max). If that's not a full circle moment, I don't know what is

https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/insecure-streaming-netflix-hbo-shows-true-blood-six-feet-under-1235660455/

[Anela]

I've just heard that Max/Warner Bros. might start streaming news alerts, as people are watching things. If I'm watching a movie, or a show, I don't want news alerts along the bottom of the screen. I especially don't need election updates, when I'm trying to shut that stuff out. No pop-up notifications. Nothing.

https://www.avclub.com/max-reportedly-testing-cnn-breaking-news-alerts-for-you-1850790057

 

Edited August 31, 2023 by Anela

[BetterButter]

HBO Bosses Used ‘Secret’ Fake Accounts to Troll TV Critics

[DanaK]

On 11/1/2023 at 12:28 PM, BetterButter said:

HBO Bosses Used ‘Secret’ Fake Accounts to Troll TV Critics

Bloys apologizes https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/hbo-chief-casey-bloys-fake-twitter-accounts-1235634912/

 

 

[wknt3]

On 11/1/2023 at 12:28 PM, BetterButter said:

HBO Bosses Used ‘Secret’ Fake Accounts to Troll TV Critics

Only fair. After all I've used this anonymous account to roast HBO bosses ever since the merger...

[DanaK]

Upcoming Max Originals that are tentpole series will become HBO Originals and will be shown on HBO first (and still stream on Max) in a strategy change.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/harry-potter-it-series-move-max-hbo-1235932253/