You’ve probably read the story already. Several months ago, Max threatened to take away 4K and Dolby Vision from most customers unless they upgraded to the “ultimate plan” or whatever they call it. If you subscribe to Max, that’s another $4 a month. It’s a bit of a kick in the teeth to folks who have already seen the service totally gutted in recent months.
This week, Max made good on their promise, sending notices to existing customers saying,
Changes to Your Features on the Max App
Hi there,Thank you for being a loyal Max subscriber. We wanted to inform you of upcoming changes.
On December 5, 2023, some of your features in the Max app will change. You can still stream all your favorite blockbuster movies, fresh originals, and iconic series. Here’s what to expect:
Current Features:
Ad-Free Plan
Stream on 3 devices at once
Full HD video resolution with select titles in 4K HDR with Dolby Atmos
Download up to 30 titles to watch on the goNew Features:
Ad-Free Plan
Stream on 2 devices at once
Full HD video resolution
Download up to 30 titles to watch on the goTo learn how to manage your subscription through your provider, go to help.max.com/manage-subscription. Questions? Visit our Help Center.
I’m inclined to use profanity here
I do my best to keep this blog free of profanity. Even though the world has largely accepted that you can say most four-letter words in practically any setting, I think that it’s just bad writing and I tend not to do it. But Max, you’re really testing me here.
I get it, I do. The app was losing boatloads of money. Something had to be done. Raising prices and cutting programming doesn’t seem like a really good solution to me, but then what do I know. In fairness, they’ve temporarily added B/R Sports and CNN live to the Max app for free, but they are already saying that those add-ons will cost money later. That’s fine… I haven’t used them not even to check them out.
Here’s what wasn’t clear until today
Until today, it wasn’t clear how people who get Max through their TV subscription would be affected. It’s crystal clear now.
Here’s the simple truth: If you get Max because you subscribe to HBO through DIRECTV, you are going to lose 4K. Period. Your only option if you want 4K on the Max app is to pay full price for it. There’s no upgrade where you could just pay the $4 and get the Ultimate plan. It’s all or nothing.
This move undercuts every single pay-TV provider, especially those who have had relationships with HBO for decades. It not only cheapens the value of the HBO broadcast services, it creates a situation where people feel like they have to turn off HBO broadcast and move over to Max on streaming.
Here’s why I think that’s a bad idea
First of all, there’s more content on HBO-over-satellite than there is on Max. A lot of the titles that have been stripped from Max are still available on demand from DIRECTV. That alone is a good reason to keep the service.
Second, live TV is really quite good! I actually like scrolling through the guide, finding a program or movie I haven’t thought of in a while, and watching it even if I start in the middle. Maybe I’m the last person alive who does this. It’s likely the younger people don’t. But they’re free to live their lives as they see fit. So am I.
But more importantly, the combination of HBO-over-satellite and Max was excellent. Sadly, a lot of HBO’s darker shows look really bad on satellite because the 4K version isn’t available. Max was a great place to watch things like House of the Dragon and The Last of Us, while the satellite feed was great for things that are actually well-lit like The Gilded Age and Late Night with John Oliver. When you try to watch a show as it premieres on Max, sometimes you don’t get great performance. Everyone else is trying to stream it at the same time and things get clogged up. The easy solution: move to satellite.
It’s like they hate us. It really seems like they hate us
When you look at some of the biggest streaming services out there: Netflix, Max, Disney+/Hulu, Prime Video, and Paramount+, it’s almost like the folks who run them resent regular viewers. I can imagine them sitting in a (probably cigar-smoke-filled) room cackling about how we regular folks had it too good and something has to be done. They seem bound and determined to raise prices and cut services until people have no choice but to find another way to watch what they want.
And you know, I hate to say it but this is patently the wrong time to do this. More and more people today spend time watching things like YouTube and TikTok rather than stuff produced by the studios. The actors’ and writers’ strikes have meant roughly 6 months with no production at all. That means things are going to look pretty slim on those streaming services for a while.
If I knew that I was facing increased competition from TikTokers, and I knew that I wouldn’t even be able to turn out any new content for months and months, the last things I’d be doing would be raising rates and cutting content. But hey, there must be something I’m missing here. Can someone please tell me what it is?
