Can someone ELI5 the difference between HBO Now, HBO Go, and now HBO MAX?
Am I the only one that is completely confused by their apps branding?
HBO Max taking on Netflix with human curation instead of relying on algorithms
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Re: HBO Max taking on Netflix with human curation instead of relying on algorithms
#122Can someone ELI5 the difference between HBO Now, HBO Go, and now HBO MAX? Am I the only one that is completely confused by their apps branding?
They have a FAQ at the bottom: https://www.hbomax.com/
> The biggest difference is what you can stream. HBO Max is a stand-alone streaming platform where you can stream all of HBO together with even more of your favorite series and blockbuster movies, plus new and exclusive Max Originals for everyone in the family.
> HBO NOW and HBO GO are your options for streaming all of your HBO favorite series, plus hit movies, specials, and more. HBO GO is a streaming service included with your paid HBO subscription through a TV or mobile provider. And HBO NOW is a stand-alone streaming service that lets you stream all of HBO without a TV or mobile package.
Re: HBO Max taking on Netflix with human curation instead of relying on algorithms
#123Earlier quoted context omitted.
Duck Dynasty is widely popular with almost 9mm viewership. It has a rating of 6.3. Breaking Bad has 1.5mm viewership and an IMDB score of 9.5. If you're Netflix, do you make invest money into a show like Duck Dynasty or like Breaking bad.
You do both, but only give them 3 seasons. Netflix has done decent drama along with some terrible reality shows (the one where men compete to impregnate one woman is notable https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/may/21/labor-o... ).
Fox and Netflix both have an "x" in the name, but is that sufficient cause to identify them?
Re: HBO Max taking on Netflix with human curation instead of relying on algorithms
#124Earlier quoted context omitted.
The prices are much lower than a cable package.
Disney+ with Hulu, Netflix, HBO, Apple+, Amazon Prime, Starz, adds up if you want full coverage.
As it should. Under no business model should you expect to get access to all providers' content for a minimal price.
Re: HBO Max taking on Netflix with human curation instead of relying on algorithms
#125Earlier quoted context omitted.
This balkanization is a good thing. I'd far rather have the choice between many competing providers each offering a service at £8/month, than have the choice to take or leave a single expensive all-in-one subscription, like cable. It's also good that market forces are driving content-creation.
By the time you check you might be paying more than cable. We all hoped to have a cheaper alternative to cable. Not a fragmented variation of it.
How much is cable those days? That would require at least 10-12 streaming services.
Re: HBO Max taking on Netflix with human curation instead of relying on algorithms
#126I subscribed to HBO Max for $11 and just see they don't have a Roku app (the most popular streaming platform)??
Re: HBO Max taking on Netflix with human curation instead of relying on algorithms
#127Earlier quoted context omitted.
Duck Dynasty is widely popular with almost 9mm viewership. It has a rating of 6.3. Breaking Bad has 1.5mm viewership and an IMDB score of 9.5. If you're Netflix, do you make invest money into a show like Duck Dynasty or like Breaking bad.
Ya, I didn't cover them but there's certainly exceptions. Kids shows is a great example of a genre targeting a demographic which is likely under represented by the voting community - adults. Imdb is best viewed through the filter of "what do adults want to watch or think is good". I remember watching duck dynasty, great kids show and I loved it, but I doubt it holds up for adults. Batman beyond on the other hand won…
You are mistaking Duck Dynasty with either DuckTales, Quack Pack, or Mighty Ducks.
Re: HBO Max taking on Netflix with human curation instead of relying on algorithms
#128Are there any examples to counter argue the vast superiority of computational curation?
Walmart (active merchandising) > Amazon (passive SEO)
Mutual funds (active picking) > ETFs (passive baskets)
It seems like a one directional shift. Every time I see human curation, it just ends up being long term worse.
Re: HBO Max taking on Netflix with human curation instead of relying on algorithms
#129Earlier quoted context omitted.
It feels to me like the balkanization of streaming services was inevitable and Netflix getting into the content game was just a logical response to remain relevant. If the catalog is what garners subscribers then a streaming service without its own catalog is basically fucked in the long term.
This balkanization is a good thing. I'd far rather have the choice between many competing providers each offering a service at £8/month, than have the choice to take or leave a single expensive all-in-one subscription, like cable. It's also good that market forces are driving content-creation.
Competition is good, but each of the competitors are creating their own shows. This potentially requires you to buy multiple services to view all the content you want.
I would prefer the competition to not be content but on UI, speed, downtime, viewing suggestions, etc.
The best part of cable was that you could get any channel regardless of your provider. You could have Spectrum, AT&T, Direct TV or whoever and get any channel you wanted.
The problem was that you usually could not do al la carte and when you could it would not be cheap enough to justify losing all the other channels.
Imagine if you had to pay for Time Warner cable to get CNN, AT&T to get HBO, and Comcast to get NBC.
Re: HBO Max taking on Netflix with human curation instead of relying on algorithms
#130This is a hard problem. And it makes a great interview question too! Recent PM interview question I've been using: You're the PM at Netflix handling the home screen. How do you determine how shows get promoted editorially vs algorithmically recommended? Walk through metrics/principles/trade-offs and how it impacts various parts of the biz. https://twitter.com/sriramk/status/1222547047846297600
This is a great question and I might steal this for future interviews. It's surprising how many of the people responding, despite being told optimizing for engagement is a cop-out, still jump to some kind of metric-based prescription. Or just jump right into throwing percentages for each content type (I mean, it's twitter, so sure, have a go). My personal stab at this: this is really a strategic question. What are Ne…
I'm not a PM nor hiring one but in my opinion you didn't answer the question. If the aim of the question is just to not answer the question and just raise more questions then it's a poor interview question in my opinion.
And from looking on Twitter, it's confirmed, imo, it's a bad question:
"As a lot of you have figured out instantly - this is really a iceberg question. Looks like a simple UX problem but is really about trying to understand Netflix as a system and as a business."