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TV disappears, but HBO Max removing shows feels different

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Re: TV disappears, but HBO Max removing shows feels different

#11

Post by happytoexplain »

LarryMullins wrote: post #8
happytoexplain wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure if you're mis-reading the quote, or don't have the implied context for the quote, which is that television broadcast did not originally pass through any persistence layer. It went from the camera to the television, never to be seen again.

The article isn't talking about pre-VCR shows, which indeed were ephemeral. The article is hand-wringing about modern shows getting dropped from streaming services in 2022. These shows are almost certainly preserved online through file sharing. The article ignores filesharing and tries to suggest that the ''disappearance'' of modern shows is somehow worse than the disappearance of pre-VCR shows: "TV Has Always Disapp…

Oh, sorry, I misunderstood "these shows" to mean the shows referenced by the quote, rather than by the article.

Re: TV disappears, but HBO Max removing shows feels different

#14

Post by letmeinhere »

Apparently some of these series are going to be re-licensed to ad-supported networks. [1]

I don't think this undermines the premise of this article, that the current crop of streaming execs are moving TV backward to a more ephemeral medium. It's gonna be essential for independent archivists to preserve assets that are being discarded.

[1] https://www.polygon.com/23513277/westworld-hbo-where-to-stre...

Re: TV disappears, but HBO Max removing shows feels different

#15

Post by LarryMullins »

nopenopenopeno wrote: post #12
LarryMullins wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article isn't about pre-VRC shows.....

The quote is, though.

When I asked "Are any of these shows not preserved and available through online filesharing?", I am asking if any of the shows the article is about aren't available online. The article is about modern shows from 2022 being removed from online streaming.

> Did you even read the

Right back at you buddy.

Re: TV disappears, but HBO Max removing shows feels different

#16

Post by twoodfin »

samtheprogram wrote: post #2

This seems like a smart money grab. Keep the hot titles on streaming to keep your subscriber base, and those who really want to watch the fringe shows will probably pay for them, earning HBO more money. Just recently paid for Angry Boys. It’s totally obvious why they would want to remove it from their platform in this culture, and even more so when they are still selling it elsewhere. I wonder if other titles removed…

The most likely theory is that HBO (under the former ownership) signed deals on streaming residuals for these shows that make them more expensive to keep available than they’re worth.

They expected Westworld, for example, to do Game of Thrones-class numbers and continue to draw subscribers for years as a catalog title. It didn’t sustain that level of interest. And the new ownership doesn’t seem to believe in the value of catalog titles in the first place: I wouldn’t be surprised if The Wire and The Sopranos eventually get moved or sold elsewhere.

Re: TV disappears, but HBO Max removing shows feels different

#17

Post by rightbyte »

twoodfin wrote: post #16
samtheprogram wrote: post #2

This seems like a smart money grab. Keep the hot titles on streaming to keep your subscriber base, and those who really want to watch the fringe shows will probably pay for them, earning HBO more money. Just recently paid for Angry Boys. It’s totally obvious why they would want to remove it from their platform in this culture, and even more so when they are still selling it elsewhere. I wonder if other titles removed…

The most likely theory is that HBO (under the former ownership) signed deals on streaming residuals for these shows that make them more expensive to keep available than they’re worth. They expected Westworld , for example, to do Game of Thrones -class numbers and continue to draw subscribers for years as a catalog title. It didn’t sustain that level of interest. And the new ownership doesn’t seem to believe in the va…

Well I guess they need to do later seasons good in that case. Westworld season 2 was a joke. From a drama in S1 to mindless b-action in S2.

Re: TV disappears, but HBO Max removing shows feels different

#18

Post by twoodfin »

letmeinhere wrote: post #14

Apparently some of these series are going to be re-licensed to ad-supported networks. [1] I don't think this undermines the premise of this article, that the current crop of streaming execs are moving TV backward to a more ephemeral medium. It's gonna be essential for independent archivists to preserve assets that are being discarded. [1] https://www.polygon.com/23513277/westworld-hbo-where-to-stre...

The ephemerality seems like a side effect of the underlying “problem”: Media consumers want what’s new and hot, that’s where the audience and money are.

Prestige TV imported the creative standards and financing levels of Hollywood films into dramatic television. Now, just like the movies, it’s become hit-driven.

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