More content, but since it's content I don't want (reality, etc) content value dropped.

Couldn't agree more

The name change is literally the dumbest thing ever. HBO Max makes sense. It's maximum HBO. Max alone as a name is just some kid's name. Like is the WBD CEO's kid named Max or something. Max what? WBD Max? Fine. HBO Max? Perfect. Just Max? Stupid. It needs something else. It's also quite a bit of hubris. HBO is somehow the problem as a brand? Correct me if I'm mistaken but HBO Max subscriber base blows the Discovery Plus subscriber base out of the water, yes? But somehow HBO in the name is turning people off? Oh fuck off.

All that said, if it's just a rebrand I'm still fine with it over all. I just hope this isn't some semantics loophole to separate first run live HBO content down the line. I could conceivably see it being easier to down the line say whoa whoa whoa we never promised HBO content live. Just that this is where it will stream once it's done airing on linear HBO. I hope not.

I can only speak for myself, but I was a heavy media collector who now rarely buys anything.

I don't care what they call it, I just hope (as per the email) that the HBO Max app will become the Max app automatically. Smooth transition.

Once it looks like it's running smoothly I might opt for the $19 level.

I hope it is still free with a Directv HBO subscription

I want to see the trademark paperwork submitted for “Max” haha

At least in the Apple ecosystem, the HBONow -> HBOMax was an automatic app upgrade.

I would expect it to go smoothly. The email they sent said there's a possibility I'll have to download the new app.

I'll be honest, I've never watched anything on Max in 4k so I'm not even sure what's available (but I get why people who do watch in 4k hate the trend towards the Netflix "standard").

Most of the reaction to the pricing is fear that they will take away the bundled with HBO channel option (for most major providers, it seems not yet) and/or the freebies like the grandfathered AT&T subs (still up in the air).

My main concern is that they've showed with stuff like Westworld that HBO originals weren't safe from being purged from the service and monetized elsewhere, so moving away from the HBO brand entirely would seem to be like an easy way to hasten that to make a bit more extra. Every time I see a digital sale on WB titles I think "this is why they removed it from HBO Max" and resist.

Hulu just sent me an email that the price is going up on May 17th to $15.99. I subscribe to HBO Max via Hulu.

The price of Hulu is increasing or the price of Max is?

The price of Max. I wrote it on my original post (I subscribed to HBO Max via Hulu).

It's natural for folks to be pissed about price hikes and changes to things they pay for. What's so hard to understand? Not everyone is sittin' on a ton of money and this pass time is getting expensive while seeming to not offer what is used too.

Especially when gas prices, eggs, and everything else is going up in price.

i doubt it because one of reason that they came up with MAX was because everyone was getting it for free from directv

What makes you say that (or why directv specifically)? As far as I know you only got it free with DirecTV if you have HBO and as I posted before, that's going to continue, see here:
https://www.max.com/faq/ways-to-get/index.html

Now whether it remains free with legacy AT&T accounts is something else entirely.

Yeah, I hope they don't, but I absolutely expect them to remove it as a freebie from at least some AT&T customers. (I get it because I have AT&T Fiber internet).
If I no longer get it free, I will have to seriously think about cancelling. Not that it's oh so much necessarily (although "anything", from "nothing", is a big increase), but that paying for something that used to be 'free' AND feeling like I'm about capped out on streaming services means I will be wanting to do some serious churn. Plus I'm still ticked they cancelled so much of the animation. If so, maybe I'll resub when the next seasons of Ghosts and Righteous Gemstones come out.

The name "Max". Argh. On the one hand, it seems weird they're tossing a name that meant so much. But on the other hand, and as a devil's advocate to myself, "HBO" was huge in Cable Premium Channels. I'm betting most of us have had cable (or satellite) for a good chunk of our lives, maybe even still do, or have had it in the last 5 or so years.
There's a lot of people younger than us who have either never had cable/satellite, or it didn't play the role in their media consumption it did for us. "HBO" means much less to them. But "MAX" and "PLUS" and "i" and all those, those are modern e-speak buzzwords that "mean" something. I still hate "Max" and think it's bland and generic but I can see why they decided "HBO" isn't the marquee name it used to be, for a large portion of the streaming population. And it allows them to sell off that previous HBO content.

The last physical-only releases I purchased were Alice Cooper Welcome to my Nightmare and Pink Floyd the Wall. Otherwise I buy digitally. I prefer to buy physical if it has digital included and doesn't cost much more than digital only. But i definitely buy random digital for five bucks, or 8 or so bucks for a tv season. (That said, my purchasing, physical or digital, has really decreased. Between my current library in both formats and streaming stuff, there aren't as many gotta-have titles for me.)

I love all these premium streaming services that give you you the app for free if you pay for cable. I know that’ll change in time, but love it for now.

With the name change it'll be easier flr more HBO shows to get dropped

Which makes it easier not to subscribe.

If you get HBO with your cable or satellite TV package, you may have access to Max at no extra cost.

The hotel we are in has hbo and that notice popped up in between programs.

What's the plan for Looney Tunes?

Would it be better just to subscribe to Boomerang streaming service?

same as it’s always been.