evan_aggie said:

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TCTTS said:

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Yes, they're included with the subscription price, but will only be available for a month each. Then to either theaters again or VOD, then finally back to HBO Max at some point months later.

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I really don't know why they didn't charge a small amount for the new VOD.

My wife and I were discussing what we'd pay for some of the tier 1 new releases...we'd not only sign up for HBO Max (for other content), but we'd easily pay an additional $6-$10 per new film. I think most of the 5m subscribers would do the same.

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Again, it's less about making money right now, and more about growing subscriptions for the long haul, and competing with Netflix/Amazon/Disney+. Charging for these movies over the next year would impede that goal.

Tenet might have to be the first movie I watch with subtitles *and* AirPods.

I disagree. Me keeping or canceling HBO Max will all be dependent on what content is available right then and now. So here is what we'll do: we'll sign up for HBO Max to watch the shows we've been wanting to watch, catch the new movie, and then cancel next month.

Then we'll active again and watch a movie, and cancel. We already do this with Hulu and Disney+. Active, cancel, Activate, cancel. Disney+ hooked us an extra month b/c THIS time they decided to slow roll the mandalorian on season 2.

HBO Max's strategy with the Warner Bros slate is, literally, to release one of these big, new movies every month over the course of 2021. Granted, not everyone is going to watch every movie, but the point is to have something new each month to entice new subscribers and keep the current ones. And this is all in addition to HBO and HBO Max's respective TV series, which release weekly, and entice/keep subscribers that way as well.

I wonder how much of HBO/WB/ATT's decision to do this is based on ATTs position as one of the largest ISPs

The more I hear, the more it sounds like that was a major factor.

evan_aggie said:

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I disagree. Me keeping or canceling HBO Max will all be dependent on what content is available right then and now. So here is what we'll do: we'll sign up for HBO Max to watch the shows we've been wanting to watch, catch the new movie, and then cancel next month.

Then we'll active again and watch a movie, and cancel. We already do this with Hulu and Disney+. Active, cancel, Activate, cancel. Disney+ hooked us an extra month b/c THIS time they decided to slow roll the mandalorian on season 2.

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If you have the discipline to do that, then congrats, you're coming out ahead. They're counting on the vast overwhelming majority not having that kind of discipline and them having big tentpole events gets them closer to that Netflix state of mindshare (I need this year round) rather than the kind of more renew and drop of apple+ or CBS all access, Hulu, etc.

TCTTS said:

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HBO Max's strategy with the Warner Bros slate is, literally, to release one of these big, new movies every month over the course of 2021. Granted, not everyone is going to watch every movie, but the point is to have something new each month to entice new subscribers and keep the current ones. And this is all in addition to HBO and HBO Max's respective TV series, which release weekly, and entice/keep subscribers that way as well.

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So how does Warner determine what series airs on HBO the cable channel vs HBO Max exclusively? Does the channel go away eventually? It seems the bigger the app becomes, the less important the channel becomes.

Sure, but then their eventual goal will be to up the $14.99 a month if they are going to stick to that model... I think.

I don't know where the break even point will be, but if they have 5m subscribers at $15/mo for an entire year, then $900m in revenue. They probably need 4x that? I have no idea...purely guessing. I doubt they'll be able to grow their base that much. But, if they do...for sure we'll see them change the monthly cost later, or then switch movies to an additional charge.



*update* - actually I had read that HBO subscriber ship was 20m+ and that most just had to enroll in HBO Max to be included for free...which only a tiny fraction had done this?

double aught said:

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TCTTS said:

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HBO Max's strategy with the Warner Bros slate is, literally, to release one of these big, new movies every month over the course of 2021. Granted, not everyone is going to watch every movie, but the point is to have something new each month to entice new subscribers and keep the current ones. And this is all in addition to HBO and HBO Max's respective TV series, which release weekly, and entice/keep subscribers that way as well.

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So how does Warner determine what series airs on HBO the cable channel vs HBO Max exclusively? Does the channel go away eventually? It seems the bigger the app becomes, the less important the channel becomes.

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In terms of TV programming, think of HBO and HBO Max as two separate networks, each with their own heads, creative execs, productions, etc. It may not seem like it to the average consumer - which is one of the issues - but the two are basically two completely different companies. And HBO isn't going anywhere. They'll remain the "prestige" programing wing of the streamer, while the HBO Max original content wing will be more mainstream.

They've been getting $15mo from hbo cable subs for decades so that's sort of a set price point. There will be deals and free trials etc, but yes, a huge chunk of the base has been happily paying them $15mo for years - hence why a huge back catalog and big movie premiers and stuff like friends will seem like extras or bonuses or a reason to keep up in the months btwn new seasons of whatever their hot show is.

I still don't understand why they didn't just call this thing "Warner Max." Then the two, big, respective TV hubs could be...

- HBO
- Warner Max

... in additional to the current hubs of DC, Adult Swim, Looney Tunes, the WB movie library, etc. It'd be so easy to basically then just say that HBO is prestige programming, while "Warner Max original content" is more mainstream programming. Then there'd be zero confusion as to what an "HBO Max" show is, since, as-is, it sounds like a show that's either *better* than HBO, or an extension of HBO, when, in reality, it's neither.

Speak of the devil...

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/amp/news/christopher-nolan-rips-hbo-max-as-worst-streaming-service-denounces-warner-bros-plan

Im not sure anyone could truly replicate the Netflix model of getting mass sign ups at that level without a completely separate offering like Amazon prime has to go with theirs. But purely from my experience, hbo max not going to roku has led to me not giving a **** about signing up. And the news last week did zero to change that. I don't care about 90% of their movie content. If something in other mediums becomes good enough to watch off roku I'll wait till the season or series is done and binge in a month then cancel sub.

Anything they're showing on the platform or in the theater that I want to see, I'll just see in the theater.


If hbo max went to roku I'd sign up with them ongoing tomorrow and consider canceling other streaming services

Why would a streaming platform that is having trouble with sign-ups deny a huge market like roku? Are they getting paid for exclusivity or is Netflix and company paying roku to deny entry or is roku demanding too much?

Where are the cables?

Yoda said:

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HBO Max launching on Roku tomorrow! One week before Wonder Woman '84.

https://variety.com/2020/digital/news/hbo-max-launch-roku-warnermedia-1234864416/

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Merry Christmas to all!

shocker...they finally made a good business decision. I'll be starting up tomorrow.

My recently purchased Roku stock is lookin' good!

Any word on what time HBO Max is dropping WW84?

Never mind, I found it...

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbr.com/wonder-woman-1984-premiere-time-christmas-hbo-max/amp/

TCTTS said:

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I still don't understand why they didn't just call this thing "Warner Max." Then the two, big, respective TV hubs could be...

- HBO
- Warner Max

... in additional to the current hubs of DC, Adult Swim, Looney Tunes, the WB movie library, etc. It'd be so easy to basically then just say that HBO is prestige programming, while "Warner Max original content" is more mainstream programming. Then there'd be zero confusion as to what an "HBO Max" show is, since, as-is, it sounds like a show that's either *better* than HBO, or an extension of HBO, when, in reality, it's neither.

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Agreed. This is all very confusing.

also, i actually searched for this thread just to comment that i tried to watch WW84 through Xfinity. maybe the HBO Max app is better directly through a smart tv or another device, but it was an awful experience and not just because of the movie. i really hope they improve their app before all these other films start hitting it.

For whatever reason, the HBO Max app on my Roku is extremely slow. Once the movie starts, there are no issues with the movie, but just navigating the menus, it seems like nothing is happening, so I'll click the down button again, or right, or whatever. Then all of a sudden, it will move down 5 times. Pretty annoying. The content on HBO Max seems pretty solid, though. I wonder how much longer before people start dropping Netflix. Between Disney+ and now HBO Max, I'm not sure there's much for me to watch on Netflix anymore.

jackie childs said:

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TCTTS said:

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Tenet might have to be the first movie I watch with subtitles *and* AirPods.

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it'd be awesome if the subtitles just say a variety of things like "heck if we know"..."inaudible"..."your guess is as good as ours"

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That would be hilarious.

As of last night, I've finally made it halfway through Tenet... twice. It's not that the audio's bad, it's that Nolan seemingly ALWAYS chooses either masked individuals or foreign actors with thick accents to deliver important exposition, and it drives me insane. I'm all for diversity. I'm all for hiring foreign actors in prominent roles. But good gosh, if they have a thick accent they SHOULDN'T be delivering important information in a complex sci-fi movie. All of this to say, I made I through the first hour until I knew I had missed so much important dialogue that I started completely over with subtitles. Then, last night, I made it literally one scene past where I had made it previously, before my power went out in a crazy rain storm. Hopefully the third time's a charm!

Looked crappy on my Chromecast as well and it wasn't in 4k.

Other content looks fine...

AustinAg2K said:

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For whatever reason, the HBO Max app on my Roku is extremely slow. Once the movie starts, there are no issues with the movie, but just navigating the menus, it seems like nothing is happening, so I'll click the down button again, or right, or whatever. Then all of a sudden, it will move down 5 times. Pretty annoying. The content on HBO Max seems pretty solid, though. I wonder how much longer before people start dropping Netflix. Between Disney+ and now HBO Max, I'm not sure there's much for me to watch on Netflix anymore.

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Same issues. Ours will hang for minutes at a time on the load screen. Also, everything starts out in standard definition for about 10 seconds before it flips to HD.

So far, once it gets going it's fine though.