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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

#91

Post by maxfurman »

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.

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 pinching CEO doesn't understand what made HBO worth the subscription in the first place.

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

#92

Post by haswell »

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.

Westworld is hardly the first show on HBO that isn't exactly stellar start to finish.

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

#93

Post by phpisthebest »

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…

Disney;s business model for many years was to do just that, they would put popular titles "in the vault" only to re-release them a few years later

it is proven economic model of false scarcity. Just like the McRib, McDs would never put it on the permanent menu because they sell more due to it "limited run" every year.

I suspect these shows will be like that, they will be removed and readded periodically to boost subscriber numbers, probally to align with some exec needing a bonus, or if they are having a bad year and want to hide the bad news from investors

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

#94

Post by phpisthebest »

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.…

>>If you can't download the file, you don't own it.

I would append that with "If you cant download the file, DRM free, in a format that can be read with OpenSource Software you do not own it

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

#95

Post by Eleison23 »

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.…

[dead]

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

#96

Post by AdamJacobMuller »

greesil wrote: post #89
ThrowawayTestr wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just checked, you can get all of Westworld on BluRay.

Why would I want to watch it more than once?

First and second seasons are masterpieces which absolutely deserves multiple re-watches. There are many layers to both seasons where early details are only noticeable on rewatch, preferably after watching some youtube videos explaining it all.

3rd season was just a confusing mess, fourth was so bad that by the time i reached then end I completely did not care about it.

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

#97

Post by phpisthebest »

listenallyall wrote: post #58
pmontra wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some people buy (rent?) videos and books, then download a DRM free copy from bittorrent.

Buying a legit copy doesn't make it legal to download a pirated/illegal copy, any more than buying a band's CD makes it legal to sneak into their concert without a ticket.

Downloading, or possessing copyrighted work that you have not paid for is not actually illegal. It is not drugs, and it is not theft

One of the reasons indivual consumers were targeted for torrents was the fact they were UPLOADING while at the same time downloading

Copyright law is about DISTRIBUTION of a protected work, if I have a copy of a movie, and never distribute it even if the person I obtained it from was not authorized to give me a copy of that money I did no violate copyright law, the person that gave it to me did.

I have yet to see anyone cite the section of copyright law, or any other law that covers the act of DOWNLOADING, only the act of UPLOADING, Sharing, or other wise distributing the work is what violate copyright

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

#98

Post by deaddodo »

nanidin wrote: post #87
woodruffw wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't actually settled in US law, as far as I can tell: if you actually do own a legal copy and you download another copy, it's unclear that you've actually done anything illegal. IIRC this is the argument that Apple uses to de-duplicate copies of users' music libraries, sometimes to deleterious effect[1]. [1]: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/252932712

Yes, and as I understood it the illegal part of torrenting was the upload, not the download.

Technically, the “illegal” part is copying, distributing and deriving from; per Title 17 of Federal law (in the US, of course).

That being said, just like possessing a pound of marijuana can be considered an amount with intent to distribute, the same can be said for having a NAS server with 20TB of copyrighted media. In addition, there are state criminal/civil laws to take into account as well.

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

#99

Post by lotsofpulp »

bgorman wrote: post #49

I am a pretty loyal HBO max customer, despite the troubles with the service. The content is just too good. I thought this would be about B-tier content. But Westworld? Arguably HBOs biggest hit since game of thrones? What are the MBAs looking at? It was bad enough that Westworld was not in 4K. Now that the White Lotus is over, maybe i should cancel

> The content is just too good.

Considering the new bosses have a reputation for producing pure garbage media, I would expect this to change in the near future.

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