HBO Max is becoming "MAX"

[Errol]

I think Warner Max would have made more sense as well. Someone even made a fantastic logo for that name using the current WB font scheme. I guess they chose not to emphasize the Warner part since they are merged with Discovery, and that brand would be lost with the Warner Max name. I'm warming up to the Max name since they have used "Max Original" on most of the key art for their original shows, so it makes sense. My issue is that Max is a name of a person. At least with Peacock, which is a bird, NBCUniversal could say that the Peacock has been NBC's branding for decades and made sense to use the name with their streamer. Max isn't the same in that regard. Again, it's just a generic shortened version of a name for a girl or a guy, whether it be Maxwell, Maxine, Maximillian, or what have you. Max would even make sense if it were the name of one of the Warner Bros. from back in the day. But to use "Max" as the name for your streamer, to me, is giving up.

[Vee]

It's all of a piece of Discovery being arrogant enough to think their brand is bigger than HBO, AFAIC and to think they can mold it to being all things to all people, like their aspirations for their own content. But they are climbing out of a mountain of debt too and this merger won't last.

These are dark times for the various platforms and providers creatively and financially after a drunken boom period and an oversaturation of content above all. I think ultimately HBO will survive and repair itself in time (along with other platforms), but I think what's been done to it and its library in the meantime is a travesty.

[Liberty City]

For me, "Max" is too general, and I feel for Cinemax, who've used "Max" in their name for so long. Hahaha. "Warner Max" would've been the right name, focusing on HBO & Discovery-owned programming. And you're right: NBC had it right with "Peacock", because the peacock was also synonymous with NBC's logo dating back to 1956 (ended in 1975 and returned in 1979). Just like the eye has always been synonymous with CBS. It's a missed opportunity, but, like I said, so long as the content is the same (HBO Max to Max), then I am happy, because the film content is top tier, and the quality is amazing.

The fact Discovery+ isn't ending is infuriating to me, because they don't want to lose that customer base. Let them go to Max like HBO Max people need to move.

[Liberty City]

Anyone have a glitch where it allows you to "rewatch" a film, but it cannot restart the film? Honestly, MAX is just really glitchy.

[dragonflies]

 

 

[Liberty City]

Does not surprise me. Since going from HBO Max to Max, I've used it about 90% less than before. The colour scheme change is horrid, and the platform is glitchy as f**k.

[Errol]

So it turns out the article referenced by that Twitter/X account wasn't actually about the percentage rate in which people canceled their subscriptions to Max and other streamers but how much the services themselves canceled programming with Max having the highest cancel rate and Apple TV+ having the lowest.

https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/streaming-services-cancellations-study-hbo-max-highest-1235718137/

[Liberty City]

Oh, that's even worse. I know when the Looney Tunes news came out, social media went CRAZY! Streaming cancellations are all the rage it seems.

[Khan]

I think people fooled themselves with the notion that anything that was streamed could be streamed forever; it can't.  Streamers, I'm sorry to say, have become a business like any other, concerned only with the bottom line.  That's why, more and more, I'm seeing people on social media urging others to buy and hold onto "physical media" (i.e., DVD's and Blu-rays) whenever they can.

Between all the cancellations and removals, and the merging of platforms and talk of merging, it seems as if our love affair with all things streaming has begun to fade, with many suggesting that the streaming industry is becoming not much different from cable.  Of course, returning to cable and OTA TV is out of the question; we're too far gone for that.  But what happens if or when streaming becomes passe?  What happens to how we receive our entertainment?