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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

#121

Post by forrestthewoods »

rthomas6 wrote: post #25

I really don't understand why people are surprised. If you don't have access to the file itself, you don't own it. "Buying" a movie on a platform or paying for a subscription service are both just paying for a revokable license to access a movie. You do not own it and access can be revoked at any time according to whatever platform's ToS. If you want to own an actual copy of a TV show or movie, buy the physical disc.…

> I really don't understand why people are surprised.

Because this is the first time anything quite like this has happened. Yes I know shows disappear from streaming platforms all the time.

Anyone who says they aren’t surprised is, imho, full of shit. This is surprising because the economics of it seemingly don’t make sense. Which means the contracts must be structured in a way that people didn’t expect. TBH eve after the announcement it still doesn’t make sense to me! The only way it can sense is if you know the contract details. And I’m pretty sure you don’t, which means I think you’re full of shit. I’m not trying to be rude, just honest! However if you do know what the Westworld contract looked like please let us all know!

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

#122

Post by jrm4 »

indigodaddy wrote: post #45
jrm4 wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The last paragraph wasn't necessary to me; while I'm glad we have "if you can't pay I understand" -- but I also think that "if you can pay you always should" isn't nuanced enough? I imagine few of us want "cable all over again," but that's what it looks like we're headed toward? Offhand, I'd e.g. like to pay for individual shows. Let me pay $5 for Severance and I literally need nothing else from Apple TV.

You can already do that with Vudu/iTunes/Amazon (maybe not the $5 part but sales fire off frequently enough for tv shows if you keep your eye out on Slickdeals / CheapCharts etc)

I can already do that with a ridiculous and stupid amount of friction and confusion.

It (theoretically of course) is not easier than piracy?

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

#123

Post by locusofself »

labrador wrote: post #82
dougmwne wrote: post #33

I think part of the reason this is a big deal is that it breaks HBO’s brand. They have always been seen as a prestige channel that had a catalog of original programming you’d never see anywhere else. Westworld appeared to be part of this original programming portfolio and something that would live on as part of what it meant to be subscribed to HBO, like the Sopranos. Having the series disappear is like finding out t…

Yes but Westworld started out with a brilliant first season and went downhill from there until the 4th season was nearly unwatchable. The Sopranos was good right up until the end, which is not how I would have ended it. HBO might as well sell Westworld to a less premium outlet.

Was there a 4th season? I couldn't make it halfway into the 3rd season. The first season was brilliant

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

#124

Post by imgabe »

wankle wrote: post #117

I breezed through the article, we don't watch TV on the streaming services. We use free HD OTA since we're not that far from the towers. Do a lot of people watch TV shows on the streaming networks? It doesn't seem like something I'd want to pay for or if I did, maybe I'd just go back to cable? We use streaming services for movies and documentaries.

Yes, many people watch shows and n streaming services. Why would cable be preferred? With streaming you can watch any time you want not on a fixed schedule.

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

#125

Post by magicalist »

labrador wrote: post #108
maxfurman wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many (most) HBO shows do not live up to The Sopranos, and FWIW I completely agree with your assessment of Westworld, but I also agree with GP - part of the pitch of HBOGO, and then Max, is access to the whole back catalog of HBO. The Sopranos, yes, but also John From Cincinnati and a host of other ambitious also-rans. HBO isn't selling off Westworld because it's bad, they're selling it off because their penny pinchin…

He has the numbers though. He can see if hardly anyone is watching Westworld on HBO and calculate he could make more money by selling it and then using that money to create something people do want to watch. As for harming the brand, I know what HBO used to be but don't know if it's that anymore. I don't know anything about calculating a brand image or how much it's worth, so I couldn't say in a landscape of thousand…

> He has the numbers though.

He thinks he has the numbers. He could also raise the subscription price and make more money that way too, if most people stick around. Do that enough and they won't, though.

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

#126

Post by ehvatum »

AdamJacobMuller wrote: post #106

HBO was the original prestige programming channel, Netflix briefly got into that game but seems to have given up and preferring on making programming decisions solely based on KPIs to maximize total profit and now it seems like HBO will no longer be any kind of prestige programming destination. Is there anywhere now to pick up the prestige programming torch?

If you want prestige, Amazon did spend $1 billion on their middling-earth multi-ring documentary about tory political infighting or whatever it is.

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

#127

Post by n8cpdx »

philliphaydon wrote: post #115
listenallyall wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Westworld is a uniquely terrible show. HBO is doing you a favor by removing it.

I thought it was meant to be good? 8.5 on IMDB.

They just have bad taste, or are overly fixated on later seasons.

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

#128

Post by gnicholas »

wankle wrote: post #117

I breezed through the article, we don't watch TV on the streaming services. We use free HD OTA since we're not that far from the towers. Do a lot of people watch TV shows on the streaming networks? It doesn't seem like something I'd want to pay for or if I did, maybe I'd just go back to cable? We use streaming services for movies and documentaries.

Do you watch OTA live? I am shocked by the number/length of commercials on OTA broadcasts. Even when I watch network television from NBC/CBS/etc. on their websites, it's much easier to switch to a different window, mute the volume, and check back in a minute or two (and rewind if needed).

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

#129

Post by tyingq »

LeoPanthera wrote: post #118
tyingq wrote: post #103

The practice of Amazon Prime, Frontier, and other on-demand services just up and removing movies (or tv shows) you "bought" is weirder to me. I assume it's because they lost rights in some negotiation, but the movies just disappear. No notice, no refund.

Does this actually happen? It was my understanding that they disappear from the store, but if you already bought it, you still have access to it.

It happened to me with both providers I mentioned. With Frontier, it's when they bought Verizon FIOS, and I lost several movies. On Amazon Prime Video, I lost 2 seasons of a British detective show.
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