DVD Talk Forum

DVD Talk Forum (https://forum.dvdtalk.com/)
-   Streaming Talk (https://forum.dvdtalk.com/streaming-talk-75/)
-   -   HBO Max -- Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service (https://forum.dvdtalk.com/streaming-talk/645473-hbo-max-warner-bros-discovery-streaming-service.html)

fujishig 12-15-22 08:45 AM

re: Max — Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service
 
https://deadline.com/2022/12/raised-by-wolves-the-time-travelers-wife-among-other-titles-being-removed-from-hbo-max-as-warner-bros-discovery-lines-up-fast-plans-1235199433/

More titles being removed, with seeming confirmation that they want to sell them to ad supported services. Earlier they admitted they're taking a bigger write off than originally announced as well.

This comes as more shows are being removed from the streaming service including Raised By Wolves, Head of the Class and The Time Traveler’s Wife as well as reality shows FBoy Island, Legendary and Finding Magic Mike.The company is taking these shows, most of which were previously known to be canceled (only Finding Magic Mike is newly scrapped), off the platform and instead put together a package of shows to license to third-party FAST channels.

While many of these shows are produced by other studios including the likes of Scout Productions and STX, sources said that arrangements have been made even if complete deals haven’t closed.

Westworld, the Warner Bros TV-produced series that Deadline revealed was being lined up for free streaming, is also among this list of shows, alongside The Nevers.

Meanwhile, the rights to Gordita Chronicles, Love Life, Made For Love, The Garcias and Minx, which have been canceled, are reverting to the producers and studios behind them. The company said that it is speaking with studio partners about opportunities to “further expand the reach of the shows, including but not limited to licensing the series to third-party FAST platforms”.

“All those write-offs… we didn’t take one show off a platform that is going to help us in any way,” he added on a recent earnings call.
edited to add: geez at that auto gif in the url. But appropriate for Zaslav I guess.

Josh-da-man 12-15-22 10:05 AM

re: Max — Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service
 
Zaslav is doing to HBO and Warners what Elon Musk is doing to Twitter.

fujishig 12-15-22 10:07 AM

Re: HBO Max — Warnermedia streaming service
 

Originally Posted by Josh-da-man (Post 14206398)
Zaslav is doing to HBO and Warners what Elon Musk is doing to Twitter.

Hey, give credit where it's due, Zaslav was doing it first.

randian 12-15-22 11:42 AM

re: Max — Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service
 
I'm rather annoyed they're licensing to FAST platforms specifically and not paid platforms like Netflix, Hulu, or Apple TV+.

Cellar Door 12-15-22 11:50 AM

re: Max — Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service
 
I hope they keep Warrior at least until season 3 airs.

Josh-da-man 12-16-22 07:05 AM

Re: HBO Max — Warnermedia streaming service
 

Originally Posted by randian (Post 14206469)
I'm rather annoyed they're licensing to FAST platforms specifically and not paid platforms like Netflix, Hulu, or Apple TV+.

Yeah, that's really weird when you think about it.

For decades, HBO was a premium brand. They were creating prestige programming like Sex and the City and The Sopranos. Twenty years ago, these were huge pop culture phenomenons, and also closely identified with the HBO brand.

So when you see them stripping the carcass and selling off even recent prestige shows to junk peddlers like Tubi, it's kind of alarming and feels like the old HBO is no more.

It's like if Apple started letting companies that sell cheap MP3 players license the "iPod" name. You really get a sense that they're letting go.


Josh-da-man 12-16-22 07:20 AM

Re: HBO Max — Warnermedia streaming service
 

Originally Posted by Jay G. (Post 14201174)
Ugh. That's like if one of the other streaming services renamed themselves to "Plus."

It also seems like it could cause confusion with the DMAX (Discovery Max) channel:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMAX_(Spanish_TV_channel)

Keeping the name HBO Max and just adding Discovery content too it seems like the smartest move, but I guess that the new heads that came from Discovery didn't want to admit HBO had better branding than Discovery. Outside of that though, I'm not sure what a good name would be. Maybe go outside the box like NBC Universal did with the Peacock name?

I may be completely mis-reading this, but I was always under the impression that the "Max" part of "HBO Max" was in refernce to its sister channel Cinemax.

So if they're dropping the "HBO" from "HBO Max," it sounds like they're completely dropping the HBO part of the name in favor the Cinemax part.

It's a strange and disturbing corporate movie. I agree that it would have been smarter to fold the Discovery content into HBO Max and keep that name. Discovery has been a joke for a long time, crapping out an endless stream of reality schlock like Naked and Afraid, American Chopper, and Deadliest Catch. It does come off like a spiteful move on the part of Discovery, but it's also keeping up the trend of Warners getting bought by some third party then being their bitch, like in the "AOL-Time Warner" days.

The weird thing about Warners is that they're always being bought up by companies like AOL, AT&T, and Discovery, and you're just kind of scratching your head, thinking that it should be the other way around. :scratch2:

dex14 12-16-22 07:49 AM

Re: HBO Max — Warnermedia streaming service
 

Originally Posted by Josh-da-man (Post 14206859)
Yeah, that's really weird when you think about it.

For decades, HBO was a premium brand. They were creating prestige programming like Sex and the City and The Sopranos. Twenty years ago, these were huge pop culture phenomenons, and also closely identified with the HBO brand.

So when you see them stripping the carcass and selling off even recent prestige shows to junk peddlers like Tubi, it's kind of alarming and feels like the old HBO is no more.

It's like if Apple started letting companies that sell cheap MP3 players license the "iPod" name. You really get a sense that they're letting go.

It's really not that much different than when they licensed Sex and the City to E! or The Sopranos to A&E. Worse because they were edited.

I think a lot of this situation is getting blown way out of proportion.

RichC2 12-16-22 08:38 AM

Re: HBO Max — Warnermedia streaming service
 
But at least Sex and the City and the Sopranos remain ready to stream.

It's the removing of Warner-produced material from HBO Max outright that is surprising, not the licensing of it to Ad-supported platforms.

I do wonder if they'll stay in rotation on HBO channels though, since they seem to be working to distance HBO Max from HBO proper?

randian 12-16-22 08:53 AM

Re: HBO Max — Warnermedia streaming service
 

Originally Posted by Josh-da-man (Post 14206861)
it sounds like they're completely dropping the HBO part of the name in favor the Cinemax part. It's a strange and disturbing corporate move.

They're already dropping the "HBO Max" branding, with "Originals" now calling themselves "Max Originals" rather than "HBO Max Originals".

fujishig 12-16-22 10:45 AM

Re: HBO Max — Warnermedia streaming service
 

Originally Posted by Josh-da-man (Post 14206861)
I may be completely mis-reading this, but I was always under the impression that the "Max" part of "HBO Max" was in refernce to its sister channel Cinemax.

So if they're dropping the "HBO" from "HBO Max," it sounds like they're completely dropping the HBO part of the name in favor the Cinemax part.

It's a strange and disturbing corporate movie. I agree that it would have been smarter to fold the Discovery content into HBO Max and keep that name. Discovery has been a joke for a long time, crapping out an endless stream of reality schlock like Naked and Afraid, American Chopper, and Deadliest Catch. It does come off like a spiteful move on the part of Discovery, but it's also keeping up the trend of Warners getting bought by some third party then being their bitch, like in the "AOL-Time Warner" days.

The weird thing about Warners is that they're always being bought up by companies like AOL, AT&T, and Discovery, and you're just kind of scratching your head, thinking that it should be the other way around. :scratch2:

We all originally thought the Max part was referring to Cinemax, but they didn't start putting Cinemax originals on until way after the service started (and I'm not sure they even put everything on there, I'm pretty sure they left off all the racy stuff), so really it was just "maxing out HBO" or something to that effect.

Also I don't think there's that much overreacting. They are in extreme extreme cost cutting mode which is not good. If Netflix took, say, Stranger Things off their service to peddle somewhere else, similar eyebrows would be raised.

Josh-da-man 12-16-22 12:12 PM

Re: HBO Max — Warnermedia streaming service
 

Originally Posted by dex14 (Post 14206867)
It's really not that much different than when they licensed Sex and the City to E! or The Sopranos to A&E. Worse because they were edited.

Yeah, and I thought that was a weird move all around, too.

One, that HBO would rent out their crown jewel to a commercial-supported cable station while it was still in production. And, on top of that, the episodes would be censored and filled with commercials for Taco Bell and class action settlements.

Two, that A&E paid out two hundred million dollars for the rights to a watered down show, then seemed to barely show it.

dex14 12-16-22 12:47 PM

Re: HBO Max — Warnermedia streaming service
 

Originally Posted by fujishig (Post 14206953)

Also I don't think there's that much overreacting. They are in extreme extreme cost cutting mode which is not good. If Netflix took, say, Stranger Things off their service to peddle somewhere else, similar eyebrows would be raised.

Nothing they’ve removed is anywhere near the level of Stranger Things.

Westworld stopped being high profile. People stopped watching it. $160mil was spent on a fourth season with abysmal ratings. They needed to find a way to get a ROI.

windom 12-16-22 02:50 PM

re: Max — Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service
 
It looks like all these shows they've announced as leaving show as "Leaving December 18". Does that mean they'll be there all day Sunday? Or will they disappear after Saturday?

I'm currently trying to binge the second season of "Raised by Wolves" and "FBoy Island" before they leave, but not sure I can do it by the end of Saturday.

Josh-da-man 12-17-22 03:52 PM

re: Max — Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service
 
Are they pulling stuff that originated on HBO proper (like Westworld) from On Demand, too?

whotony 12-17-22 04:01 PM

re: Max — Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service
 
Probably

Jay G. 12-17-22 05:44 PM

Re: HBO Max — Warnermedia streaming service
 

Originally Posted by Josh-da-man (Post 14207577)
Are they pulling stuff that originated on HBO proper (like Westworld) from On Demand, too?


Originally Posted by whotony (Post 14207581)
Probably

Streaming and cable "on demand" are different services though, with different licenses, so WBD can license out streaming rights while keeping them on HBO On Demand on cable, so it's not a sure thing.

It's a bit like when Starz and Showtime had licensed out their content to Netflix before both started their own streaming services, but the content was still on cable on-demand.

fujishig 12-20-22 02:47 PM

re: Max — Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service
 
Titles coming and leaving. That's a lot of titles leaving. Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, and Batman Brave and the Bold? My son's gonna be crushed.

https://pressroom.warnermedia.com/us...bo-max-january


January 31:

12 Years A Slave, 2013 (HBO)

Abduction, 2011 (HBO)

Amityville 3-D, 1983 (HBO)

Amityville II: The Possession, 1982 (HBO)

Aquaman (1967)

At Close Range, 1986 (HBO)

At First Sight, 1999 (HBO)

Bananas, 1971 (HBO)

Batman: The Brave and the Bold

Biker Boyz, 2003 (HBO)

Boogie, 2021 (HBO)

Borg vs. Mcenroe, 2018 (HBO)

Care Bears: Unlock the Magic

Cellular, 2004 (HBO)

The Champ, 1979

Chinatown, 1974 (HBO)

Chocolate City, 2015 (HBO)

Chopped: Holiday

Chopped: Thanksgiving

Code of Silence, 1985 (HBO)

Confidence, 2003 (HBO)

Daybreakers, 2010 (HBO)

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, 2016

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, 2018

Fools Rush In, 1997

Gang Related, 1997 (HBO)

Good Deeds, 2012 (HBO)

Head of the Class (1986)

Holiday Baking Championship, Season 7

Holiday Baking Championship, Season 8

Horsemen, 2009 (HBO)

Hyde Park on the Hudson, 2012 (HBO)

I, Robot, 2004 (HBO)

Jeff, Who Lives At Home, 2012 (HBO)

John Wick, 2014

John Wick: Chapter 2, 2017

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, 2017

Jurassic Park, 1993 (HBO)

Jurassic Park III, 2001 (HBO)

Justice League

Justice League Unlimited

Kick-Ass 2, 2013 (HBO)

Land, 2021 (HBO)

Le Divorce, 2003 (HBO)

Life of Pi, 2012 (HBO)

Little Men, 2016 (HBO)

Macbeth, 2015 (HBO)

Much Ado About Nothing, 1993 (HBO)

The New Adventures of Old Christine

The Next Karate Kid, 1994

Nostalgia, 2018 (HBO)

Rango, 2011 (HBO)

Riddick, 2013 (Director’s Cut) (HBO)

Rules of Engagement, 2000 (HBO)

Running Scared, 1986(HBO)

School Ties, 1992 (HBO)

Solaris, 2002(HBO)

Soul Food, 1997 (HBO)

Source Code, 2011

Suite Francaise, 2014 (HBO)

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, 2007 (HBO)

The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, 2005 (HBO)

The Book Thief, 2013 (HBO)

The Care Bears Movie, 1985 (HBO)

The Con is On, 2018 (HBO)

The Core, 2003 (HBO)

The Dead Zone, 1983 (HBO)

The Help, 2011 (HBO)

The Lost World: Jurassic Park, 1997 (HBO)

The Next Three Days, 2010 (HBO)

The One I Love, 2014 (HBO)

The Possession, 2012 (Extended Version) (HBO)

The Untouchables, 1987 (HBO)

Thirteen, 2003 (HBO)

Transcendence, 2014 (HBO)

Two Can Play That Game, 2001

West Side Story, 1961 (HBO)

Zero Dark Thirty, 2012
edited to add: oh, maybe this is their deal with amazon.
https://bamsmackpow.com/2022/12/03/w...n-deal-amazon/

New Lurker 12-26-22 01:31 PM

re: Max — Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service
 
I always thought the Max part of HBO was referring to HBO to the max, or HBO maximum. Like the highest level of HBO. Never even crossed my mind that it had anything to do with Cinemax, because it was pretty obvious it didn't lol.

It's already been said but taking the HBO brand name off is a head scratcher. Until you realize if they have a new app that isn't HBO branded, they'll be able to double charge. You want HBO? Buy HBO through your cable. You want Max? Buy that too, to get access to HBO stuff online. They're rolling back the clock to when HBO & HBO Now were separate entities. It's greedy & it's gross. It also auto cancels all the marketing deals out there that offer "HBO Max" for free like AT&T phone subscribers get. Can't get something for free that doesn't exist anymore.

Capitalism sucks.

dex14 01-12-23 10:33 AM

re: Max — Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service
 

Warner Bros. Discovery is raising the monthly price of HBO Max for the first time since launching it more than two years ago.

Effective Thursday, Jan. 12, the price of a new HBO Max ad-free monthly subscription in the U.S. will increase from $14.99 to $15.99 plus applicable taxes. That’s about a 7% increase. Existing HBO Max subscribers who are currently paying $14.99/month will see their monthly rate increase to $15.99 effective their next billing cycle on or after Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023.

“This price increase of one dollar will allow us to continue to invest in providing even more culture-defining programming and improving our customer experience for all users,” the company said in a statement.

HBO Max launched in May 2020 at $14.99/month, back when it was part of AT&T-owned WarnerMedia. In June 2021, the company introduced an ad-supported HBO Max plan that costs $9.99/month; it isn’t immediately clear if the price of that package also will be increasing.

Warner Bros. Discovery is prepping a merged HBO Max-Discovery+ platform, set to launch in the U.S. in the spring of 2023. The company hasn’t announced details on pricing, packaging or a name yet (although “Max” is the leading contender at this point).
https://variety.com/2023/digital/new...ihvve6AFi3LEsI

fujishig 01-12-23 10:40 AM

re: Max — Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service
 
That price increase seems ok, but coupled with everything else going on with the company/service...

Why So Blu? 01-12-23 12:00 PM

re: Max — Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service
 
I paid for the year at that low price a couple of months ago, so don't know if that will be affected.

emachine12 01-12-23 12:16 PM

Re: HBO Max — Warnermedia streaming service
 

Originally Posted by Why So Blu? (Post 14219094)
I paid for the year at that low price a couple of months ago, so don't know if that will be affected.

You won’t be until it is time to renew.

dex14 01-12-23 01:17 PM

Re: HBO Max — Warnermedia streaming service
 
Gotta make sure they cash in on any new signs up The Last of Us will bring.

Deftones 01-12-23 03:16 PM

Re: HBO Max — Warnermedia streaming service
 
Pay us more....for less!

davidh777 01-12-23 03:20 PM

re: Max — Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service
 
At least it’s only 7%. I bailed on Apple when they hiked it 40%. Granted that was still less than half of HBO, but they don’t have much content either.

DJariya 01-12-23 10:00 PM

re: Max — Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service
 
It's $1. That's nothing. The amount of shows and movies that HBO has makes it more than worth it. But luckily I have that 1 year promo locked in that I also got an additional discount using my AMEX card. I'll worry about the new price when the time comes later this year.


TomOpus 01-12-23 10:31 PM

re: Max — Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service
 
I watch it more than Netflix. Worth it.

whotony 01-13-23 11:46 PM

re: Max — Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service
 
I can’t find any mention of it Here but last year maybe after august they offered a monthly $12 plan good for a year.

After the increase was announced I wondered if that would effect these monthly deals.
It appears it effected my plan as it went up $3 to $14.99.

Okay well Nevermind.

looks like I’ve had this deal for a year already.
Interesting that my price went to $15 and not $16 a month.

Guess I’ll be cancelling

whotony 01-13-23 11:56 PM

re: Max — Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service
 
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/dvdtalk...2dbab4654.jpeg

Josh-da-man 01-14-23 06:08 AM

re: Max — Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service
 

“This price increase of one dollar will allow us to continue to invest in providing even more culture-defining programming and improving our customer experience for all users,” the company said in a statement.
That, friends and neighbors, takes some serious balls to say.

K&AJones 01-15-23 05:26 PM

re: Max — Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service
 
Hello

I'm trying to find a bit more on reviews of HBO Max with Ads as to how it all works and just how annoying is it with TV Shos and Movies...The Last of Us series is on and having a PS5 supposedly there's a discount for a Yearly Sub with Ads. We have Amazon and Disney but no ads so don't have nothing to compare before grabbing the deal or not.

lwhy? 01-15-23 06:08 PM

Re: HBO Max — Warnermedia streaming service
 

Originally Posted by K&AJones (Post 14220535)
Hello

I'm trying to find a bit more on reviews of HBO Max with Ads as to how it all works and just how annoying is it with TV Shos and Movies...The Last of Us series is on and having a PS5 supposedly there's a discount for a Yearly Sub with Ads. We have Amazon and Disney but no ads so don't have nothing to compare before grabbing the deal or not.

I would just pay extra for no ads. All streaming services tend to run the same ads multiple times.

OldBoy 01-25-23 05:07 PM

re: Max — Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service
 
So, Westworld can’t be seen on any non-paying streaming service?

TheBang 01-25-23 08:00 PM

Re: HBO Max — Warnermedia streaming service
 

Originally Posted by OldBoy (Post 14225493)
So, Westworld can’t be seen on any non-paying streaming service?

Pretty much. You can either buy it digitally or buy it on optical disc. Or go sailing on the high seas.

OldBoy 01-25-23 08:11 PM

re: Max — Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service
 
Well, that blows. I have the first 2 seasons on Vudu, so might as well make it a set, but thought I could coast on the last two seasons on HM.

Decker 01-25-23 11:55 PM

Re: HBO Max — Warnermedia streaming service
 

Originally Posted by OldBoy (Post 14225584)
Well, that blows. I have the first 2 seasons on Vudu, so might as well make it a set, but thought I could coast on the last two seasons on HM.

Skip three entirely. Just watch a recap. It's awful.

DJariya 01-26-23 02:49 PM

re: Max — Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service
 
HBO Max was actually broadcasting live International soccer last night. It was USA vs Serbia. I saw a little bit of it and the broadcast quality looked good. Only reason why I heard of it was because one of our reporters at NFL Network Sara Walsh got hired by WB to be a host of the soccer coverage.

Giantrobo 01-26-23 03:57 PM

Re: HBO Max — Warnermedia streaming service
 
I was getting HBOMax Notifications about the game.

OldBoy 01-26-23 06:59 PM

Re: HBO Max — Warnermedia streaming service
 

Originally Posted by Decker (Post 14225661)
Skip three entirely. Just watch a recap. It's awful.

that bad huh? In general terms what went downhill, the writing? But resurges S4?


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 10:32 PM.


Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.