| In last week’s newsletter, I wrote about how HBO Max is undermining itself by pulling some classic DC Comics movies just a month after launching. Doing so sends mixed messages about what HBO Max has to offer, and suggests that corporate parent AT&T isn’t as invested in the service as it claims to be.
For my TechHive column this week, I decided to dig a little deeper, using data from Reelgood to see just how much new content HBO Max has added. The answer? Not much, especially compared to what Netflix and Amazon Prime add to their catalogs every year. Since 2018, for instance, the number of quality shows (as defined by IMDb ratings) that Netflix has added is larger than HBO Max’s entire TV catalog. The same is true on the movie side with Amazon Prime, whose quality additions since 2018 outnumber the total film selection on HBO Max.
While AT&T has said that it’s ”all in” on HBO Max, the service seems more like a half-measure for a company that’s already taken too many of them in the cord-cutting era. Read the full column on TechHive. |
| HBO Go begone: In other HBO news, the HBO Go app for cable and satellite TV customers is going away after July 31, while the HBO Go website will stop working after August 31. If you’re already getting HBO through a traditional TV subscription, you’ll be encouraged to just use the HBO Max app for streaming purposes instead, as it offers more content and a slicker design at no extra charge.
There’s just one problem: HBO Max still isn’t available on Roku or Amazon Fire TV devices (though you can still sideload the app on the latter), so this seems like something of a gambit on HBO’s part. If the company can’t get deals in place by the end of July, cable and satellite customers will be stuck without streaming access on Roku or Fire TV.
Meanwhile, the separate HBO Now app is being rebranded to just “HBO.” This will mainly serve as a holdover for Roku and Fire TV users who’ve subscribed to HBO on a standalone basis, and can’t yet upgrade to Max. Rebranding a zombie app seems like more trouble than it’s worth to me, but that’s why they don’t pay me the major media conglomerate big bucks.
ATSC 3.0’s slow advance: This story about three ATSC 3.0 stations launching in Pittsburgh is as notable for what it doesn’t say as it is for what it does. While the local Fox, ABC, and MyNetworkTV affiliates are all broadcasting in the new standard now, it’s unclear if they’ll support 4K, on-demand video, or any other ATSC 3.0 features anytime soon.
I thought about just skipping over this announcement as a non-story, but I’ve been getting a lot of reader questions about ASTC 3.0 lately, and the Pittsburgh launch helps illustrate what I’ve been saying to folks in response: It’s very early days for ATSC 3.0, there are no consumer-grade tuner boxes on the market yet, and we know almost nothing about what broadcasters actually plan to do with the new standard. Unless you consider yourself the most bleeding-edge early adopter, you really don’t need to be worrying about buying compatible hardware right now.
CBS’s “super service” plans: ViacomCBS continues teasing plans to upgrade its CBS All Access service. According to CEO Bob Bakish, the service will relaunch in 2021 with 15,000 hours of new content, roughly doubling the current catalog. The additional movies and shows will come from Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, the Smithsonian Networks, and Paramount Network, and is mainly about bringing “a lot of young audience to the table,” Bakish said. (The audience for All Access skews older.)
Some of that new content won’t take until so long to arrive—Bakish had previously promised big changes to All Access over the summer—but it sounds like a full-blown rebranding won’t happen until next year. Still unknown is whether it’ll come with higher prices.
Free films on racial injustice: Last week, I tried to link to The Verge’s list of free movies you can watch on racial inequality and police brutality, but I flubbed it and linked to a single movie announcement instead. Anyway, the correct link is right here. I apologize for the error. |
| Speaking of CBS All Access, you can currently get one month of the streaming service for free, even if you’ve subscribed before. Just go through the sign-up process as normal, and at the bottom of the page where you enter payment information, click “Have a coupon code?” and use the code JUNEBINGE.
Keep in mind that you will be billed automatically at the end of your free month, so don’t forget to cancel beforehand.
Also worth noting: The Roku Streaming Stick+ has returned to its increasingly-common sale price of $39 from Amazon, or you can get it for a buck more at most major retailers. |
