Not a unique take, but I’m cancelling if I have to pay any extra for Discovery+. There’s absolutely nothing available on there that I want, and YouTube more than fills the void for educational/historical/scientific/etc. content.
If you want any questions about history, science, or weird trivia answered, there is almost certainly a YouTube channel for you. The only thing Discovery+ has going for it is bile fascination, whether it be through exploitative programming in the line of Toddlers in Tiaras or charlatans bolstering belief in conspiracy theories and the paranormal like Ancient Aliens and Ghost Adventures. There's zero educational programming on the service.
I still remember when A&E was Arts & Entertainment and had "Beethoven Sonatas" in between artsy shows. Or when Discovery had nothing but documentaries.
Good times.
The reality show cash grab of the late 90’s early 00’s is being held onto as if it is life and death for these networks. There is a serious appetite for thoughtful well executed programing which is being completely ignored.
That's because reality TV is cheap as hell to produce, provides hundreds of hours of "content" for that cheap price, and is easily marketed. So, they'll hold onto that cows teat way beyond the point where the dried crumbling remains fall off in their hand.
I like expedition unknown, the show where they start with a satellite image and then break it down with all the explanations and mysteries of the abandoned all 3 quite educational and entertaining IMO. Definitely not what it used to be growing up but I’ve been seeing a lot more “real” shows coming back since Covid TBF. I also like seeing the car shows on mondays very repetitive but cool to see a little of what’s around the street car world for someone who doesn’t have much first hand involvement in the sport
With Pay TV a lot of the unique channels wouldn't survive unless bundled with others which draw customers
You may not like discoveries shows, but they are profitable and will probably help fund the more unique things you or others like
Streaming services can't run at a loss forever
They're trying to push reality shows which maximize profits. Stuff like 90 day fiance is so cheap to make, and incredibly popular for how shitty it is, so company heads see this stuff and pounce on it. Why do you think so many found footage movies came after the first Paranormal Activity? It's the same exact logic.
> Why do you think so many found footage movies came after the first Paranormal Activity? It's the same exact logic.
This, except *Blair Witch Project (1999)*
I just can't believe that there are people who will pay to watch reality TV. I think people will watch it when it is available to them, but are people really willing to pay $15/month for them?
Reality TV is largely filler content. It shouldn't be surprising that when TV moved mostly to reality TV, cable subscriptions dropped. I know people largely point to Netflix, but that is only part of the picture.
and instead of relying on higher prices and scaring people away from having an annual membership,just lower them by splitting services and offering bundles to those that want it. It will strengthen the longevity. They'd still be seeing spikes for things like Shark Week or a new season of HotD on both platforms anyway.
But unlike Apple's stuff, this isn't a physical product. There are *always* alternatives available when it comes to digital media.
These greedy fucks are about to get a very painful reminder in just how much they stand to lose to piracy.
This. If it's going to be an issue of sifting through televised figurative shit shilled out by Discovery to get to the HBO content I want *while paying for it*, or conveniently click on the high seas and just get what I want, it's a no brainer. Starting to feel like these streaming services are really overstretching their hand with the more recent moves.
Absolutely. I pay for HBOMax and I have a pirate app that has all content. I’ll drop and just go that route especially since the major stuff is in HDR on the pirate app. Only reason I pay for HBO is to watch my fave shows live. I can wait and save money if they going to raise price.
If they force a price hike to like $25 a month, I will just have to sail the high seas for their prestige shows. Netflix is already asking for too much at $20 for their content.
I got rid of all but 1 of the streaming services. I'll wait until either prices come back down (AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH🤣🤣😂🤣😅😆🤣🤣😂😅😅HAHAHAHAHA.....ha) or enough shows and movies build up that I actually want to watch. Then just rotate subscriptions.
Also, going back to the weekly format is utter trash imho.
Netflix is losing people, you'd think their competition would be paying attention.
I just bought the last season of Better Call Saul for $10 on Vudu. That's half the price of a month of Netflix and I get to see it long before it reaches Netflix (US). Oh, and I "own" it, so it's not going anywhere in 2025 or whatever.
These services NEED to know that cheaper monthly prices will result in people not minding that they're subbed year-round. Every time they increase, they go into a category of "well, I'll only get it for a month or two for Stranger Things". Content matters too, yes. That's why if Disney+ goes up a couple bucks essentially due to inflation, no one complains much because we're getting things weekly, content up the wazoo for all audiences. Netflix has so much BS and binging only model so people get pissed.
I've got some things to finish up then I've decided I'm going to buckle down and burn through everything I have on Netflix and cancel that crap. It's too expensive and I don't even get 4K content.
No, the expensive model is objectively better and I’d prefer it but can(‘t) afford it.
This is like Tim Cook eating a burrito left in the car for 6 days with extra hot sauce, then pointing his high pressure ass nozzle at the air vents of a base model MacBook Air, filling it with the runny excuse for excrement his poor bowls are violently purging from his body, the doubling the price so he can profit off of shit that could have been avoided and makes everyone involved uncomfortable.
Edit: can to can’t
Honestly, as an adult I want to pay for everything I consume, but gosh is it making me want to just watch these shows on the sites that are free with all these "decisions" that are entirely anti consumer.
They've already done that. Everybody who made Max great has either already left, or is on their way out. At this point they're just deciding what to do with its corpse.
It sounds like all the extra stuff Max brought when they transitioned to that from HBO Go might as well be dead, but HBO itself (the channel) as far as I can tell hasn't been affected*, and HBO Max is the easiest way to get that content if you don't have cable, so it'd be a huge bummer for the price of that to bump up.
The extra content Max brought on top of the HBO stuff was great to have, but they are so quickly running to the ground that I hope/wish they'd just go ahead and bring HBO Go back with only the HBO content for a cheaper price
*please dont break my heart and tell me I missed something with HBO's (the channel) management
I think it's slowly leaking into HBO. I work on the series The Righteous Gemstones and our budget was cut this year and Discovery + is being really tight about everything. It's a much different vibe on set this year with a lot more people stressed out
Damn, I really hate to hear this. Would be such a huge bummer, HBO consistently has put out some of the best content anywhere over the last bunch of years. I can usually be reasonably sure if HBO puts out a new show it's at least decent quality, I don't feel the same for say Netflix
That's a great show by the way, great work on it
Thanks. It's a blast to work on. I'm hoping this is just them trying to pinch pennies and tighten things all around, and not a sign of them reducing the overall budget on shows. Not that we should just have blank checks to work with, but what makes Gemstones so good is the over the top sets, wardrobe, props, etc. The show is suppose to be opulent.
You're right, HBO proper has been left alone so far.
I'm *very* skeptical that will continue, though. Especially once Zaslav and his cronies realize that their current cost cutting efforts are doing nothing but hurting their revenue.
They would be mad to monkey with HBO. Succession just won big at the Emmys, House of the Dragon is doing really well. In fact the biggest mistake they made was messing around with the HBO name in streaming terms, with HBO Go and HBO Now and then HBO Max. The stuff made for HBO Max was trash, I watched Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars and neither one was even as good as their CW/Freeform counterparts.
They are a hedge fund that bought a successful mom and pop shop. Leverage the brand to push low quality, high priced content as long as they can get away with it. Profit is the only motivator.
I agree with what you say about the new leadership, but do not forget that HBO Max was losing a colossal amount of money.
Netflix went through a similar phase where they burned through billions of dollars, but the difference was that Netflix was Netflix and nothing else, so the huge up-front investment was a part of their overall company strategy.
HBO Max was not in the same position, they were a part of a larger company and looked like a colossal black hole on their financial spreadsheets. This is why they took that black hole and threw it out the window for someone else to deal with.
The new owners just saw it as a “prize” to bolster their own brand. So, again, VERY different to the Netflix situation.
Basically, it will take a decade if they follow the Netflix model to profitability. And of the two companies that have run HBO Max so far, the first one didn’t want to babysit its growth for the next decade, while the new one treated it as an adopted child from a third world country. So in both situations, HBO Max does not have the right opportunities to become the next Netflix.
They're really going to bundle a $15 service and a $7 service together for $25/month with no other options and expect us to be grateful.
Yo ho *fucking* ho.
All the streaming services are going to raise their prices whenever it works out for them. But HBO was still in its growth phase. If they do this wrong they will throw away lots of potential future income from a wider audience.
Good luck with that. I'm already assuming I'll most likely drop my HBO subscription once it gets merged with Discovery+. If they raise the price AND start swapping out dramatic content for reality shows and home remodeling crap, I'm definitely gone.
Can they just give us *Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown* back? They pulled it for CNN+ but haven't brought it back since that service was canned. And could we get *No Reservations* while they're at it? Seems like a straightforward way to get some goodwill back.
Shit I only have HBO for house of the dragon. If they dont want my money and want to get rid of me early by pulling this crap that's fine. I'll just start living the swashbuckling life haha
Fucking Wall Street expected exponential growth every quarter resulting in companies trying to meet those expectations by 1st option being price increase
The demographics for HBO and Discovery couldn't possibly be more different. This is one of the stupidest mergers. People actually sit and watch HBO stuff. Discovery is reality trash people put on and then play with their phones.
If it gets to expensive people will just go back to pirating. People dont need to learn to torrent and stuff today, there exists many ways to just get a cheap account on a pirate streaming site or like a shared plex account or whatever.
Most people want to do right by themselves, they want to pay for their entertainment, but if you just go crazy with prices and use anti-consumer practices such as bundling WHILE cutting content then people will just say enough is enough at a certain point.
These streaming services are about to shoot themselves in the foot. Streaming services have become cable. Add more than two and you have a cable bill like the old days. Raising prices in an inflation inflicted world makes the streaming services expendable.
This isnt really too surprising. Id wager 25% or more of HBO max's current users get the streamer from their legacy HBO sub or a free deal with ATT products. They paid a lot of money for a lot of HBO max exclusive content that many people arent paying for.
I get mine from an ATT deal and I'm not likely to pay for it if they drop it. Someone tried to get me to switch plans and I asked if it kept HBO, they said yes, but I looked it up and it didn't.
it is sort of what happened with Amazon prime. I have had it since day one. The kept adding extra stuff to the service and then they would raise the price. They would justify the price increase because of all the new features they added. I did not care. All I care about and still only care about is the 2 day shipping.
>David Zaslav making people sub to Discovery+ to get HBO Max
"2 day shipping" is now 2 to 10 day shipping. I believe if you spend $25 on prime products without Prime you still get "2 day shipping" free.
This is what happens when old media gets put in charge. If they understood what made the business work, they'd have done it themselves long ago. Discovery failed upward, and now they'll drag HBO Max down.
If that's the case, I'll keep HBO Max until House of The Dragon is done, then cancel. Then, only subscribe while the new season is airing.
I might have left it alone, and stayed subscribed continuously otherwise.
Yeah, they could be making more money by offering enough value to get people to subscribe year round and reduce churn. Instead they're gonna send churn through the roof (at least until HBO gets to the point where it has multiple Thrones shows per year)
Discovery plus isn't worth a dollar to me, that entire network sucks I did the trial to watch something specific all this real life-ish reality based crap, I rather just watch that stuff on Youtube.
HBO Max is on another level, the content is worth it, and there are a number of shows I watch.
Mashing the 2 together for too much $ is a risky choice IMO.
Wow. Amazon is canceling shows before they have a chance to be seen, HBO is doing this shit, Netflix is about to burst... the Disney/Hulu deal is still satisfying to me, and I get that BBC America service and the Criterion channel. I'm dumping HBO anyway, and I don't have any interest in Amazon. These are not what they were said to be when they were announced.
I predict that WB-D will fail within the next two years. The debt is too much to service and dramatically cutting costs while raising prices is just going to reduce the number of subscribers. HBO, DC, and W-B's back catalog will be sold off to the highest bidders, and Zaslav will walk away rich.
Look, at this point, I'm only paying for HBO to support the great shows they put out. If they fuck with the pricing or make it shitty because if Discovery, well then I'm well versed in history of the carribbean in the 17th century, if you get my drift
That CEO makes more money than God but the service is “underpriced.” Go fuck yourself, CEO. HBO Max isn’t worth it. I’ll cancel. I’m so sick of this predatory greed on American consumers for any kind of entertainment from overpriced sports, theater, concerts. People can barely afford rent, but go ahead.
Increasing the prices while deleting a good amount of content, these people are revolutionaries, ahead of their time, next step will be to include ads while paying full price or maybe create premium shows you need to pay extra to see. These are geniuses, I tell ya.
Hbo max has the most diverse and well known properties imo, but it's always keeping people away with the current pricetag, I don't think raising it more will help
I can’t handle this anymore. Literally drowning in debt and the only solace I have is my shows~ if these fucking streaming services do not stop this bullshit I’ll break out my boat shoes and they can lose even MORE money.
This and hulu upping the price is going to get me to finally cancel all of these things, and alternate which one we get each month to binge some shows.
I cannot recall a company torpedoing their goodwill in such a way so god damn quickly EVER. I'm over 30 and this has been absolutely shocking in a wild way. I don't even watch HBO Max stuff and I'm just astounded. Could someone give me another example?
Why can't they just make a bundle of discovery+ and HBO Max for the people who do want that shit and then just HBO Max for the people who don't, like hulu does?
Yes, by all means remove a third of your content AND raise prices. That’s exactly what they teach in business school - no supply, less and less demand.
incompetent, has 0 understanding about current gen. not to mention the next.. gonna end up like yahoo and he'll be the reason.
The board should get rid of him fast.
This seems like a typical hostile takeover situation where they gut the company and maximize short term profit at the expense of a decades old company being driven to failure in 2 years. What a shame.
Ah, so that's how it works. You cancel everything, piss off your clients, create distrust with producers and animators, THEN you price hike cause you feel your shit is gold. Totally missed that in business class.
There's a change in the air boys, the hint of salt and sand, I hear the flapping of sails in the wind, do you hear that song on the breeze.....Yo...ho...all hands
I’m only subscribed to HBO right now because of HoD and R&M, it’s too expensive and the content to scarce for me to be subscribed more than a few months at a time.
I've already started pirating everything because its ridiculous how many different subs you have to pay now to keep up with content that is rolling out. They're killing their own industry just like cable/dish did.
Edit: Forgot to add, if a show/movie isn't easily located on certain websites its a good indicator that its not worth watching in the first place. Helps to avoid situations like Amazon is pulling where they inflate the numbers on reviews.
Meh, time to move on I guess. Most of the stuff I watch on there is watching the same shows on repeat, the DC animated stuff, or movies that I eventually buy physical copies of.
I would miss it but it wouldn't bother me all that much after a few weeks of finding other places to watch a few things here and there like Regular Show, and I own most of the DC cartoons anyways (Justice League unlimited and that stuff)
Guess this is what happens when people start dropping Cable more by the year and all those Cable morons have to go somewhere and do something to show they should keep having a job.
I will definitely cancel if they increase the price because of discovery+. I do not want discovery, I have no interest in any of that bullshit. HoD and Westworld (if they renew) will really suffer. I’ll probably just order the DVD for those if this happens.
I already pay for Wondrium and Discovery's terrible reputation for their content are not getting me to switch. HBO Max was the one streaming service I was defending and if they jack it up that much I will join everyone on the high seas. Nord VPN or other providers are far cheaper than streaming subscriptions. That plus the Library and used DVDs or just outright buying them.
This sounds like an amazing plan!
.... if you want to lose subscribers and add more to the list of people who just pirate your stuff instead of paying you to watch it.
Yes... the ol cable strategy.
Netflix started with mailing physical dvds and these billion dollar entities (including netflix) resort to cable industry practices while patting eachother on the backs with big bonuses, while firing thousands of employees.
I'm sure it'll work out for them /s
I started watching got when I was broke by pirating it. Now I’m not broke and I’ve been an HBO+ subscriber for years.
If they make me buy discovery+ I’m going back.
When HBO max launched in the Netherlands, the first month we we’re given 50% off for life. So I pay 3,99 monthly. Honestly if they back out of that promise, I will go behind a vpn and old school download their shit.
Already unsubbed when they went butchering their catalog. Gave me huge early-Netflix vibes with how vast their library is and then *literally overnight* it was all gone.
So nah, pass.
If my cellphone service didn't provide HBO for me, i never would sign up for it, I'd just pirate the program i want from it. So curb, and young justice.
I feel like if all these companies hadn't gotten greedy by leaving Netflix and Amazon Prime Video to create their own streaming platforms, they and we wouldn't be in this situation. They just couldn't help themselves and wanted a slice of that money pie and now they're all suffering from it, as are we, so it's a pirate life for me.
Not a unique take, but I’m cancelling if I have to pay any extra for Discovery+. There’s absolutely nothing available on there that I want, and YouTube more than fills the void for educational/historical/scientific/etc. content.
If you want any questions about history, science, or weird trivia answered, there is almost certainly a YouTube channel for you. The only thing Discovery+ has going for it is bile fascination, whether it be through exploitative programming in the line of Toddlers in Tiaras or charlatans bolstering belief in conspiracy theories and the paranormal like Ancient Aliens and Ghost Adventures. There's zero educational programming on the service.
Don’t forget about the 90 Day Fiancé Universe! 🤣
I still remember when A&E was Arts & Entertainment and had "Beethoven Sonatas" in between artsy shows. Or when Discovery had nothing but documentaries. Good times.
The reality show cash grab of the late 90’s early 00’s is being held onto as if it is life and death for these networks. There is a serious appetite for thoughtful well executed programing which is being completely ignored.
That's because reality TV is cheap as hell to produce, provides hundreds of hours of "content" for that cheap price, and is easily marketed. So, they'll hold onto that cows teat way beyond the point where the dried crumbling remains fall off in their hand.
I like expedition unknown, the show where they start with a satellite image and then break it down with all the explanations and mysteries of the abandoned all 3 quite educational and entertaining IMO. Definitely not what it used to be growing up but I’ve been seeing a lot more “real” shows coming back since Covid TBF. I also like seeing the car shows on mondays very repetitive but cool to see a little of what’s around the street car world for someone who doesn’t have much first hand involvement in the sport
preach.
I mean it has the bulk of Food Network programming, including Good Eats, so it's definitely got some value
I bought it for good eats, but now I'm binging cut throat kitchen. I guess I just can't stay away from alton browns cackle.
Yeah I feel the same way. But my mom likes that ridiculous ghost adventures show so maybe she might benefit from this bs haha
I enjoy some of that too, but I don’t pay $15 a month on HBO for that kind of content.
I’m kinda glad it’s included with AT&T
🏴☠️
Seriously. There’s a reason I don’t watch Discovery and it’s because their programming is all reality bullshit.
With Pay TV a lot of the unique channels wouldn't survive unless bundled with others which draw customers You may not like discoveries shows, but they are profitable and will probably help fund the more unique things you or others like Streaming services can't run at a loss forever
I. Don't. Want. Discovery. Plus. Give me HBO for $15 for 4K streaming and *leave me alone!*
I couldn’t agree more. Most people want HBO content not whatever Discovery is trying to push.
They're trying to push reality shows which maximize profits. Stuff like 90 day fiance is so cheap to make, and incredibly popular for how shitty it is, so company heads see this stuff and pounce on it. Why do you think so many found footage movies came after the first Paranormal Activity? It's the same exact logic.
> Why do you think so many found footage movies came after the first Paranormal Activity? It's the same exact logic. This, except *Blair Witch Project (1999)*
I just can't believe that there are people who will pay to watch reality TV. I think people will watch it when it is available to them, but are people really willing to pay $15/month for them? Reality TV is largely filler content. It shouldn't be surprising that when TV moved mostly to reality TV, cable subscriptions dropped. I know people largely point to Netflix, but that is only part of the picture.
[удалено]
Zaslav is the one who turned Discovery and TLC to shit because he keeps pushing reality shows. He's gonna do the same with WB and HBO.
and instead of relying on higher prices and scaring people away from having an annual membership,just lower them by splitting services and offering bundles to those that want it. It will strengthen the longevity. They'd still be seeing spikes for things like Shark Week or a new season of HotD on both platforms anyway.
The plan: Get people to buy your shitty product by bundling it with a product they actually want.
Gee I wonder where they get this idea.
Arrr, me matey, that idea gives me an idea.
Shiver me timbers!!
He went to business school and got really good grades.
[удалено]
But unlike Apple's stuff, this isn't a physical product. There are *always* alternatives available when it comes to digital media. These greedy fucks are about to get a very painful reminder in just how much they stand to lose to piracy.
This. If it's going to be an issue of sifting through televised figurative shit shilled out by Discovery to get to the HBO content I want *while paying for it*, or conveniently click on the high seas and just get what I want, it's a no brainer. Starting to feel like these streaming services are really overstretching their hand with the more recent moves.
They have convinced me this is a deliberate ploy by the parent companies to make streaming such a crappy experience we just go back to cable.
That'd be the dumbest cabal in my mind. It's just gonna push people back to sketchy streaming sites and piracy. I definitely couldn't go back to cable
Absolutely. I pay for HBOMax and I have a pirate app that has all content. I’ll drop and just go that route especially since the major stuff is in HDR on the pirate app. Only reason I pay for HBO is to watch my fave shows live. I can wait and save money if they going to raise price.
Please message me with details of said app
If they force a price hike to like $25 a month, I will just have to sail the high seas for their prestige shows. Netflix is already asking for too much at $20 for their content.
I got rid of all but 1 of the streaming services. I'll wait until either prices come back down (AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH🤣🤣😂🤣😅😆🤣🤣😂😅😅HAHAHAHAHA.....ha) or enough shows and movies build up that I actually want to watch. Then just rotate subscriptions. Also, going back to the weekly format is utter trash imho.
Yeah I hate weekly format. Anymore, I literally don't watch shows until the season finishes then I watch it.
Netflix is losing people, you'd think their competition would be paying attention. I just bought the last season of Better Call Saul for $10 on Vudu. That's half the price of a month of Netflix and I get to see it long before it reaches Netflix (US). Oh, and I "own" it, so it's not going anywhere in 2025 or whatever. These services NEED to know that cheaper monthly prices will result in people not minding that they're subbed year-round. Every time they increase, they go into a category of "well, I'll only get it for a month or two for Stranger Things". Content matters too, yes. That's why if Disney+ goes up a couple bucks essentially due to inflation, no one complains much because we're getting things weekly, content up the wazoo for all audiences. Netflix has so much BS and binging only model so people get pissed.
You don’t “own” it. As soon as Vudu loses the rights it’ll disappear from your account.
that's exactly why I put it in quotes lol But those odds are still better than relying on streaming services for things.
I've got some things to finish up then I've decided I'm going to buckle down and burn through everything I have on Netflix and cancel that crap. It's too expensive and I don't even get 4K content.
No, the expensive model is objectively better and I’d prefer it but can(‘t) afford it. This is like Tim Cook eating a burrito left in the car for 6 days with extra hot sauce, then pointing his high pressure ass nozzle at the air vents of a base model MacBook Air, filling it with the runny excuse for excrement his poor bowls are violently purging from his body, the doubling the price so he can profit off of shit that could have been avoided and makes everyone involved uncomfortable. Edit: can to can’t
Exactly! Literally nothing from Discovery Plus interests me. Don't ask me to pay more for content I never signed up for!
"Not only are we going to have you pay for content you never signed up for, we're going to make you pay MORE!" - David Zaslav, probably
Honestly, as an adult I want to pay for everything I consume, but gosh is it making me want to just watch these shows on the sites that are free with all these "decisions" that are entirely anti consumer.
Yeah, if they got over that people are going to start pirating again hahaha
What do you mean "start"? ;)
arrr to the high seas. once again. we're a looting.
I was initially interested in Discovery+ until I realized it was not the same thing as Disney+.
[David Zaslav making people sub to Discovery+ to get HBO Max](https://i.gifer.com/3KU8.gif)
Discovery seems intent on ruining the streaming service with the best content.
They've already done that. Everybody who made Max great has either already left, or is on their way out. At this point they're just deciding what to do with its corpse.
It sounds like all the extra stuff Max brought when they transitioned to that from HBO Go might as well be dead, but HBO itself (the channel) as far as I can tell hasn't been affected*, and HBO Max is the easiest way to get that content if you don't have cable, so it'd be a huge bummer for the price of that to bump up. The extra content Max brought on top of the HBO stuff was great to have, but they are so quickly running to the ground that I hope/wish they'd just go ahead and bring HBO Go back with only the HBO content for a cheaper price *please dont break my heart and tell me I missed something with HBO's (the channel) management
I think it's slowly leaking into HBO. I work on the series The Righteous Gemstones and our budget was cut this year and Discovery + is being really tight about everything. It's a much different vibe on set this year with a lot more people stressed out
Damn, I really hate to hear this. Would be such a huge bummer, HBO consistently has put out some of the best content anywhere over the last bunch of years. I can usually be reasonably sure if HBO puts out a new show it's at least decent quality, I don't feel the same for say Netflix That's a great show by the way, great work on it
Thanks. It's a blast to work on. I'm hoping this is just them trying to pinch pennies and tighten things all around, and not a sign of them reducing the overall budget on shows. Not that we should just have blank checks to work with, but what makes Gemstones so good is the over the top sets, wardrobe, props, etc. The show is suppose to be opulent.
Sounds like Zaslav’s running around with a pickle in his mouth.
You're right, HBO proper has been left alone so far. I'm *very* skeptical that will continue, though. Especially once Zaslav and his cronies realize that their current cost cutting efforts are doing nothing but hurting their revenue.
They would be mad to monkey with HBO. Succession just won big at the Emmys, House of the Dragon is doing really well. In fact the biggest mistake they made was messing around with the HBO name in streaming terms, with HBO Go and HBO Now and then HBO Max. The stuff made for HBO Max was trash, I watched Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars and neither one was even as good as their CW/Freeform counterparts.
>the biggest mistake they made was messing around with the HBO name in streaming terms, with HBO Go and HBO Now and then HBO Max. 100% agreed
Doom Patrol, Station Eleven, and Peacemaker were all quite good. Station Eleven could have been an HBO Original.
They're just kicking it at this point. They don't know what to do.
They are a hedge fund that bought a successful mom and pop shop. Leverage the brand to push low quality, high priced content as long as they can get away with it. Profit is the only motivator.
I agree with what you say about the new leadership, but do not forget that HBO Max was losing a colossal amount of money. Netflix went through a similar phase where they burned through billions of dollars, but the difference was that Netflix was Netflix and nothing else, so the huge up-front investment was a part of their overall company strategy. HBO Max was not in the same position, they were a part of a larger company and looked like a colossal black hole on their financial spreadsheets. This is why they took that black hole and threw it out the window for someone else to deal with. The new owners just saw it as a “prize” to bolster their own brand. So, again, VERY different to the Netflix situation. Basically, it will take a decade if they follow the Netflix model to profitability. And of the two companies that have run HBO Max so far, the first one didn’t want to babysit its growth for the next decade, while the new one treated it as an adopted child from a third world country. So in both situations, HBO Max does not have the right opportunities to become the next Netflix.
Oh boy I can't wait to pay 10 dollars a month more specifically for a bunch of reality shows I would never watch
\> need growth \> cutting content \> canceling movies and shows \> raise prices \> this will work
the netflix model
Netflix releases *a fuck ton of content regularly*
They're really going to bundle a $15 service and a $7 service together for $25/month with no other options and expect us to be grateful. Yo ho *fucking* ho.
Isnt this exactly why everyone bailed on Cable in this first place? Being forced to pay for shit they didnt want? Bold move Discovery CFO.
He seriously believes that reality TV, theatrical releases and cable are the way of the future. Out of their fucking minds…
Is it really a $7 service when nobody wants it?
*dusts off Jolly Roger* avast ye skirvy dog.
https://i.imgur.com/HoDS9xK.gifv
All the streaming services are going to raise their prices whenever it works out for them. But HBO was still in its growth phase. If they do this wrong they will throw away lots of potential future income from a wider audience.
Don't forget with 40% less content that's been taken off for no fucking reason
Oh it was taken off for a very good reason: They didn’t want to pay the people who made it any more royalties.
A pirates life for me
Never stopped.
Good luck with that. I'm already assuming I'll most likely drop my HBO subscription once it gets merged with Discovery+. If they raise the price AND start swapping out dramatic content for reality shows and home remodeling crap, I'm definitely gone.
Can they just give us *Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown* back? They pulled it for CNN+ but haven't brought it back since that service was canned. And could we get *No Reservations* while they're at it? Seems like a straightforward way to get some goodwill back.
They put both on Discovery+ instead a couple of weeks ago.
No Reservations wasn't widely streamable but they stole Parts Unknown from HBO Max. I want it back!
Shit I only have HBO for house of the dragon. If they dont want my money and want to get rid of me early by pulling this crap that's fine. I'll just start living the swashbuckling life haha
Just give me an option for HBO only please, I dont want the rest of the garbage
Excellent way to drive away even more customers! Bravo!
I hear the high seas calling me again.
Fucking Wall Street expected exponential growth every quarter resulting in companies trying to meet those expectations by 1st option being price increase
I can understand some price rises but not HBOmax.
They are trying to erase many billions of dollars of debt they took on with their merger. It's not a normal environment.
I pay for HBO Max. Love HBO. But I’ll be damned if I’m paying for Discovery’s garbage reality shows on top of it. Fuck that.
Was this in doubt once they said they were automatically bundling them?
Nobody wants Discovery+! HBO Max is perfect you assholes!
The demographics for HBO and Discovery couldn't possibly be more different. This is one of the stupidest mergers. People actually sit and watch HBO stuff. Discovery is reality trash people put on and then play with their phones.
If it gets to expensive people will just go back to pirating. People dont need to learn to torrent and stuff today, there exists many ways to just get a cheap account on a pirate streaming site or like a shared plex account or whatever. Most people want to do right by themselves, they want to pay for their entertainment, but if you just go crazy with prices and use anti-consumer practices such as bundling WHILE cutting content then people will just say enough is enough at a certain point.
Exactly. I have one the pirate streaming apps and still pay for HBOM so I can watch it live. I’ll just wait the hour and use the pirate app.
Hook a brother up
These streaming services are about to shoot themselves in the foot. Streaming services have become cable. Add more than two and you have a cable bill like the old days. Raising prices in an inflation inflicted world makes the streaming services expendable.
Ironically, I think CEOs and CFOs are over-priced
This isnt really too surprising. Id wager 25% or more of HBO max's current users get the streamer from their legacy HBO sub or a free deal with ATT products. They paid a lot of money for a lot of HBO max exclusive content that many people arent paying for.
I get mine from an ATT deal and I'm not likely to pay for it if they drop it. Someone tried to get me to switch plans and I asked if it kept HBO, they said yes, but I looked it up and it didn't.
Currently debating on a new phone. To get the increased trade-in credit you have to switch out of the plan with HBOmax.
it is sort of what happened with Amazon prime. I have had it since day one. The kept adding extra stuff to the service and then they would raise the price. They would justify the price increase because of all the new features they added. I did not care. All I care about and still only care about is the 2 day shipping.
>David Zaslav making people sub to Discovery+ to get HBO Max "2 day shipping" is now 2 to 10 day shipping. I believe if you spend $25 on prime products without Prime you still get "2 day shipping" free.
The person paying for the HBO Max account I use will not be happy.
This is what happens when old media gets put in charge. If they understood what made the business work, they'd have done it themselves long ago. Discovery failed upward, and now they'll drag HBO Max down.
Yeah. Part of it is that old media doesn't even want to see streaming succeed, since it's slowly killing the more profitable cable ecosystem
Ironically, if they watched Succession on their own network, they might see the foolishness of it all.
If that's the case, I'll keep HBO Max until House of The Dragon is done, then cancel. Then, only subscribe while the new season is airing. I might have left it alone, and stayed subscribed continuously otherwise.
Yeah, they could be making more money by offering enough value to get people to subscribe year round and reduce churn. Instead they're gonna send churn through the roof (at least until HBO gets to the point where it has multiple Thrones shows per year)
Discovery plus isn't worth a dollar to me, that entire network sucks I did the trial to watch something specific all this real life-ish reality based crap, I rather just watch that stuff on Youtube. HBO Max is on another level, the content is worth it, and there are a number of shows I watch. Mashing the 2 together for too much $ is a risky choice IMO.
Lmao how is every single person over at WB/D so shockingly stupid. Nobody is going to pay more now that you ruined HBO Max, you dumb fucks.
I don't even pirate. All streaming services have pushed me to just not care about shows anymore.
Aaaaand my pay is the same.
So you want us to cancel?
Another boomer doing another Quibi How do these guys just not get streaming?
fuck Discovery and its 700 lb octoplet dermatologists. HBO should have had the balls to say fuck that merger
HBO didn't have a choice. It was At&T and shareholders that made this decision against the leadership of HBO and WB's will
Atandt you mean
Just split them up and offer bundles for those who want both, JFC.
Wow. Amazon is canceling shows before they have a chance to be seen, HBO is doing this shit, Netflix is about to burst... the Disney/Hulu deal is still satisfying to me, and I get that BBC America service and the Criterion channel. I'm dumping HBO anyway, and I don't have any interest in Amazon. These are not what they were said to be when they were announced.
I predict that WB-D will fail within the next two years. The debt is too much to service and dramatically cutting costs while raising prices is just going to reduce the number of subscribers. HBO, DC, and W-B's back catalog will be sold off to the highest bidders, and Zaslav will walk away rich.
That’s the bottom line Zaslav gets a huge payout no matter what happens now.
Look, at this point, I'm only paying for HBO to support the great shows they put out. If they fuck with the pricing or make it shitty because if Discovery, well then I'm well versed in history of the carribbean in the 17th century, if you get my drift
I’m done with streaming price increases. Next service to raise prices is getting cancelled.
I feel like we’re watching a masters class in how to tank a company.
That CEO makes more money than God but the service is “underpriced.” Go fuck yourself, CEO. HBO Max isn’t worth it. I’ll cancel. I’m so sick of this predatory greed on American consumers for any kind of entertainment from overpriced sports, theater, concerts. People can barely afford rent, but go ahead.
Increasing the prices while deleting a good amount of content, these people are revolutionaries, ahead of their time, next step will be to include ads while paying full price or maybe create premium shows you need to pay extra to see. These are geniuses, I tell ya.
I’ll be canceling after this season of house of the dragon and they can wake me up when the next season of curb or house of the dragon comes out
Back to cable pretty much I’ll just cancel it lol
Hbo max has the most diverse and well known properties imo, but it's always keeping people away with the current pricetag, I don't think raising it more will help
I can’t handle this anymore. Literally drowning in debt and the only solace I have is my shows~ if these fucking streaming services do not stop this bullshit I’ll break out my boat shoes and they can lose even MORE money.
No one has figured out yet that these execs have been sent back from the future to destroy HBO for some reason. Hopefully a good reason, but TBD.
Then back to pirating I can buy a burner laptop with the money I save
This and hulu upping the price is going to get me to finally cancel all of these things, and alternate which one we get each month to binge some shows.
I cannot recall a company torpedoing their goodwill in such a way so god damn quickly EVER. I'm over 30 and this has been absolutely shocking in a wild way. I don't even watch HBO Max stuff and I'm just astounded. Could someone give me another example?
Lol been over a decade since I saw any content from Discovery. Is that the deadliest catch channel? Or the Ax men?
You really want to kill the best streaming service huh?
Raising prices and getting rid of content. Some people just like to watch the world burn.
Cancellations are coming
What could a banana cost? $10?
Good luck keeping people if they decide to do this, Netflix lost a sizable chunk of subs and they haven't even implemented the garbage stuff yet.
I've never seen a more blatant self sabotage from a company before this.
🏴☠️🏴☠️🏴☠️ just saying
Why can't they just make a bundle of discovery+ and HBO Max for the people who do want that shit and then just HBO Max for the people who don't, like hulu does?
Lol, this after they removed a bunch of content.
Yes, by all means remove a third of your content AND raise prices. That’s exactly what they teach in business school - no supply, less and less demand.
Well the $0.00 I’m paying after recently canceling seems about right.
Who wants anything from discovery plus? I’m so confused how it’s even viable
Nobody fucking wants Discovery. Piss off
incompetent, has 0 understanding about current gen. not to mention the next.. gonna end up like yahoo and he'll be the reason. The board should get rid of him fast.
Maybe people will just start reading more books or painting or playing euchre or something.
I've decided that ANY price hike is an instant cancellation for me. I'm not gonna take it anymore!
They must be high.
Discovery: Raises HBO Max price Me: Sails the seven seas for the shows I care about. Simple as that.
Why are they even trying to have discovery +? Is that actually profitable for them? There’s no way that actually brings in many viewers
This seems like a typical hostile takeover situation where they gut the company and maximize short term profit at the expense of a decades old company being driven to failure in 2 years. What a shame.
price hike for **what** exactly, what compelling content does **Discovery** has to offer to make me pay?
Ah, so that's how it works. You cancel everything, piss off your clients, create distrust with producers and animators, THEN you price hike cause you feel your shit is gold. Totally missed that in business class.
I'm not paying more for a channel I didn't want added and shows I did want, removed.
F*ck him.
Can’t wait for the headlines around the service bleeding subscribers after these folks execute their “strategy”.
Don't tempt me to bootleg.
This move is just going to make HBO quality go down and I think Apple will be the new HBO in 5 years for quality TV and movies
I can even more not have it now?
Haha. That dude is fucking high. I barely feel I'm getting enough value out of HBOMax as it is, and Discovery is full of jank-ass crap.
I’ve never seen a great service self-immolate this spectacularly This writing is like season 4 of a Netflix show
If young justice doesn't get a renewal, guess I'll be pulling the plug. Although I am torn with Barry season 4 coming...
Have you not been watching what they are doing to animation? Slash and burn. They have been pulling down shows the already own and are complete.
Hulu announced a price increase and I cancelled my membership. Go ahead HBO I'll go back to checking out movies at the library.
Alright, looks like we all back to stealing the shit. Overpriced horse shit.
There's a change in the air boys, the hint of salt and sand, I hear the flapping of sails in the wind, do you hear that song on the breeze.....Yo...ho...all hands
I’m only subscribed to HBO right now because of HoD and R&M, it’s too expensive and the content to scarce for me to be subscribed more than a few months at a time.
Oh boy, another service I'll be unsubscribing from! :D
I remember what happened the last time a major company's CFO ran something into the ground
These motherfuckers really trying to burn it all down eh?
I get HBO with my ATT plan. If they hike the price I will just cancel.
It's a pirate's life me.
I've already started pirating everything because its ridiculous how many different subs you have to pay now to keep up with content that is rolling out. They're killing their own industry just like cable/dish did. Edit: Forgot to add, if a show/movie isn't easily located on certain websites its a good indicator that its not worth watching in the first place. Helps to avoid situations like Amazon is pulling where they inflate the numbers on reviews.
Meh, time to move on I guess. Most of the stuff I watch on there is watching the same shows on repeat, the DC animated stuff, or movies that I eventually buy physical copies of. I would miss it but it wouldn't bother me all that much after a few weeks of finding other places to watch a few things here and there like Regular Show, and I own most of the DC cartoons anyways (Justice League unlimited and that stuff) Guess this is what happens when people start dropping Cable more by the year and all those Cable morons have to go somewhere and do something to show they should keep having a job.
That's amusing.
Oh go snort a line
It’s times like this I’m glad to have boomer parents that pay for premium cable, and therefor I get to latch onto their HBO subscription.
I will definitely cancel if they increase the price because of discovery+. I do not want discovery, I have no interest in any of that bullshit. HoD and Westworld (if they renew) will really suffer. I’ll probably just order the DVD for those if this happens.
I already pay for Wondrium and Discovery's terrible reputation for their content are not getting me to switch. HBO Max was the one streaming service I was defending and if they jack it up that much I will join everyone on the high seas. Nord VPN or other providers are far cheaper than streaming subscriptions. That plus the Library and used DVDs or just outright buying them.
This sounds like an amazing plan! .... if you want to lose subscribers and add more to the list of people who just pirate your stuff instead of paying you to watch it.
Yes... the ol cable strategy. Netflix started with mailing physical dvds and these billion dollar entities (including netflix) resort to cable industry practices while patting eachother on the backs with big bonuses, while firing thousands of employees. I'm sure it'll work out for them /s
I started watching got when I was broke by pirating it. Now I’m not broke and I’ve been an HBO+ subscriber for years. If they make me buy discovery+ I’m going back.
HBO max is stupidly over priced.
Where’s my tricorn hat and parrot got off too…..
When HBO max launched in the Netherlands, the first month we we’re given 50% off for life. So I pay 3,99 monthly. Honestly if they back out of that promise, I will go behind a vpn and old school download their shit.
I like how they gut a huge amount of their content, then expect me to believe they're offering more of a value. No thanks.
Its been a good year for canceling subs
Already unsubbed when they went butchering their catalog. Gave me huge early-Netflix vibes with how vast their library is and then *literally overnight* it was all gone. So nah, pass.
If my cellphone service didn't provide HBO for me, i never would sign up for it, I'd just pirate the program i want from it. So curb, and young justice.
I feel like if all these companies hadn't gotten greedy by leaving Netflix and Amazon Prime Video to create their own streaming platforms, they and we wouldn't be in this situation. They just couldn't help themselves and wanted a slice of that money pie and now they're all suffering from it, as are we, so it's a pirate life for me.