Streaming Services: First 2023 POWER RANKINGS (And what's up with Prime?)

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

This is good news, though:

Company executives have said on prior investor calls that a focus for the new service would be revamping and improving its technology. On Wednesday, JB Perrette, CEO of streaming and games, noted that three-quarters of HBO Max’s viewership comes from the home screen only, compared with Discovery+, where the majority of usage comes from screens deeper within the app.

At the start of the pandemic, the HBO Max app was almost unusable. Now it's only better than the Prime Video app, which is about as good as being poked in the eye with a sharp stick.

It's hilarious that CNBC doesn't bother to ask why they decided "HBO" had to go from the name.

 

[trappedslider]

This is good news, though:


At the start of the pandemic, the HBO Max app was almost unusable. Now it's only better than the Prime Video app, which is about as good as being poked in the eye with a sharp stick.

It's hilarious that CNBC doesn't bother to ask why they decided "HBO" had to go from the name.

I should have linked another article Warner Bros. Discovery Unveils ‘Max’: Everything Revealed at Combined HBO Max-Discovery+ Streaming Presentation

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I should have linked another article Warner Bros. Discovery Unveils ‘Max’: Everything Revealed at Combined HBO Max-Discovery+ Streaming Presentation

This is some premium nonsense:

“HBO is not TV, HBO is HBO. It needs to stay that way, which is why we will privilege it in the product experience and also not push it to the breaking point by forcing it to take on the full breadth of this new content proposition, had we kept the name in the service brand. And by doing so, we’ll better elevate and showcase our unparalleled array of other content and brands that will be key to broadening the appeal of this enhanced product.”

"We don't want to have an app that people can search for in app stores by typing in 'HBO' because that would be unfair to HBO."

I look forward to these knuckleheads being replaced by (slightly) smarter people within 18 months.

 

[Parmandur]

This is some premium nonsense:

"We don't want to have an app that people can search for in app stores by typing in 'HBO' because that would be unfair to HBO."

I look forward to these knuckleheads being replaced by (slightly) smarter people within 18 months.

So iptimistic: theybcould easily be replaced by slightly dumber people, time will tell.

Though, I have to say, I always thought putting HBO front and center was a big mistake: HBO Max offered a lot of content (Mayne still does, dunno?) from a century of Warner Bros. IP that I would not really link with HBO as a vibe. Like, Casablanca or Bigs Bunny. Should have been Warner Bros. Max or Plus or something.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

This is some premium nonsense:

"We don't want to have an app that people can search for in app stores by typing in 'HBO' because that would be unfair to HBO."

I look forward to these knuckleheads being replaced by (slightly) smarter people within 18 months.

Yeah, Max is dumb because for enough of us, Max is short for Cinemax, the other channel owned by the HBO people, which has also always been inferior to HBO, unless you preferred the late night viewing when Cinemax turned into Skinemax, with all the soft porn they show.

 

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Netflix to bring down the curtain on its DVD-by-mail service

Netflix is poised to shut down the DVD-by-mail rental service that set the stage for its trailblazing video streaming service. The move will end an era that began a quarter century ago when delivering discs through the mail was considered a revolutionary concept. The DVD service still delivers...

apnews.com

 

[Mercurius]

It has been weeks since I've even opened Netflix...I keep it for my daughters, and I suppose I should browse to see if there's anything new, but haven't been inspired. Oh, and to watch the occasional Seinfeld episode.

Actually, the same with HBO Max, Apple TV, and the other big names. I find myself veering towards Hulu these days (X-Files re-watch) and some of the fringy less expensive ones like MGM+, which I got for the second season of From (sort of The Walking Dead meets Lost), and started watching War of the Worlds while I wait for new episodes of From.

I also like the AMC+/Sundance/Shudder package for $9/month on Amazon Prime. I've been pleasantly surprised with some of the Shudder originals.

 

[payn]

Paramount not looking good. Wonder if somebody will scoop up P+?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Paramount not looking good. Wonder if somebody will scoop up P+?

I think it's much more likely that these smaller streamers will just stop having exclusives and again license their content to Netflix, Amazon, etc. They may or may not keep the lights on in their individual apps, depending on if they can slash costs down to the break-even point.

Buying a whole studio just to get a failing streamer seems kind of like buying a social media site for double its value just to stop people from dunking on you constantly.

 

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Hulu content will be added to Disney+ to create a 'one app experience,' Iger says

Standalone options for all of Disney's streaming platforms, including ESPN+, will remain, CEO Bob Iger said on an earnings call.

www.cnbc.com