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Niners Fan in CT

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I don't think we have a thread quite like this (or this could just go in the TV discussion,  Rippa will let me know if it's worthwhile lol)  but there's a battle being waged right now and I' m very interested to see how this all plays out. I'm going to try to use this thread to update news.  I believe we discussed Disney+ in a couple different threads.  Today it was announced that Warner Media will be launching "HBO MAX" which will be the home of all kinds of shit,  I didn't realize that Warner basically owns the rights of every halfway decent sitcom that ever existed. Plus, they have HBO. They will have all the CW and DC Comics related stuff. They have all the HBO stuff. Crunchyroll, etc.  

We as consumers are going to have to choose between services because this a la carte system would end up costing you more than cable if you purchased each thing.  Another route you can take is maybe have say Netflix for a month and then switch to something else for a month.  This is what my parents used to do in the days of HBO and Showtime.  

So far it's Netflix,  Disney+,  HBO MAX,  Amazon,  Apple+,  Hulu (Disney) 

Link to Press release

https://www.warnermediagroup.com/newsroom/press-releases/2019/07/09/warnermedia-names-upcoming-direct-consumer-service-hbo-max

 

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There is a separate Disney + app thread

But also it has drifted onto the second page so you can see that not having anything to actually watch on it pointless.

That being said - the reason I did away with the Netflix thread is because it lead to so much repeat discussion as people would discuss in that thread AND TV AND Movie.

Who knows what the exact solution is

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So, it's basically HBONow but with all the rest of the Warner stuff tossed in, which is fine as long as it doesn't jack up the price too much.

 

But yeah, everyone going after their own piece of the pie is blowing up the cord cutting market, as even without the kit rentals, the prices of having all the stuff is on par with Cable, but without the exclusives to the streaming platforms.

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15 minutes ago, RIPPA said:

And yes - "cord cutters" are about to be as boned as us suckers still paying for cable

Yes,  something has to give and Netflix has a ridiculously large subscription base but as they lose TV shows and movies to these other services they have to replace that with original content and thus far their record on that is spotty.  

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6 minutes ago, RIPPA said:

Wait - I am confused

So Warner is releasing TWO different streaming services - NBC Universal AND HBO Max?

That seems... odd

NBCUniversal and Warner Media are two separate conglomerates with two different services.

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1 minute ago, Elsalvajeloco said:

NBCUniversal and Warner Media are two separate conglomerates with two different services.

Okay - the story I was looking at said Warner a billion times so I thought they were implying that somehow they owned both

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Just now, RIPPA said:

Okay - the story I was looking said Warner a billion times so I thought they were implying that somehow they owned both

You did scare the shit out of me for a second and made me believe I missed a major sale going through. 

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This was always going to be the end game. We're all about to be losers sadly. Pure Ala Carte service on content combined with the increasing threat of data caps from ISPs. What a time to be alive!

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1 minute ago, Chaos said:

This was always going to be the end game. We're all about to be losers sadly. Pure Ala Carte service on content combined with the increasing threat of data caps from ISPs. What a time to be alive!

I think we discussed this on this very board many years ago when Netflix was ramping up.  There will be blood and while some conglomerates may shed some,  the consumer is always the ultimate loser. 

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It may be a vast library but I'll need more details to see what will be included at launch and what the price will be.  My Xfinity plan has the premium channels and Netflix included so there's no need for HBO.  So unless the WB stuff is just too good pass up on I think I can pass on this.

As for all these options while they are numerous at the end of the day it's up to the consumer to decide if it's worth getting.  With the way things are going it's going to either lead to people going back to cable (doubtful) or them finding other ways to use the services.  I wouldn't be surprised at some point if there's a rise in those living together who separate who pays for what (husband pays Netflix, wife pays HBO Go, etc.)  The only ones I pay for now are for WWE Network, New Japan World and Impact Plus and those are more than enough for me.

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The rumored price was 16-17 bucks a month. Which, it's a vast library, but probably less popular than what Disney is launching, for way less. So I think they might struggle.

I'm assuming this will be the end of the DCU service

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1 hour ago, Brian Fowler said:

The rumored price was 16-17 bucks a month. Which, it's a vast library, but probably less popular than what Disney is launching, for way less. So I think they might struggle.

I'm assuming this will be the end of the DCU service

I think that's debatable.  Warner Bros. owns Friends and Seinfeld and really almost every popular sitcom ever.   Friends is already going bye bye from Netflix (it was a huge hit for Netflix) and Seinfeld will be done with Hulu in 2021;  it was a big deal for Hulu to acquire Seinfeld I remember it driving some subs.  It was a billion dollar deal.  

Then you throw in WB's movie library (which is in the thousands?),  the HBO library which includes Thrones,  Sopranos, etc.  and everything from Cartoon Network,  Adult Swim,  Crunchyroll,   all the DC comics stuff,  all of the DC shows that air on CW Network.. all the DC animated stuff,  the DC shows which were a big thing on Netflix,  that will be no more also.  Flash, Batwoman etc.  all on HBO Max now.  

Not factoring in all the original content that they will be producing as they do for HBO.     How many times can you watch Stars Wars or a Marvel movie or Lion King?  I think the answer is a lot.. but I think the answer to how many times can you watch Seinfeld...  well,  just look around this very board. lol

 

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I get what you're saying, but on the other hand, the top four movies released so far this year are Disney. So were the top 3 last year. And the top 2 plus 5 the year before that. The top 3 plus 5 and 7 in 2016. 1, 3 and 4 in 2015.

Disney is constantly producing the new material audiences want. Plus they own an even larger back catalogue than WarnerMedia, including no shortage of extremely popular TV shows.

And D+ is supposed to be only $6.99 a month/$99.99 a year. HBO Max has a rumored $17 a month price (HBO Now is $15, and it seems unlikely they don't increase it at least some for all the added content.) I feel like they are going to need to lower that to compete with the cheaper options.

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That said, Netflix might be fucked. If the reports that The Office is the most watched show, and Friends second,  are true, and both are going to be gone by 2021... Yikes

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With AT&T owning Time Warner I was reading about the service here.  https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/07/att-starts-restricting-time-warner-shows-to-its-own-streaming-service/

Basically considering the shitty practices AT&T has done for many years I can't in good conscience even consider getting this app.  I guess I can say this since I have cable but even if I cut the cord I'm sure I'd find other ways to catch it (buying Blurays of seasons and all that)

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In the last few weeks I became oddly comfortable with all of these streaming services because most let you stream onto more than one device per account at the same time. Hell, YouTube TV outright says you can tie your main account to like 5 or 6 other Google accounts.

So what my wife and I have done recently is split our streaming bill 4 ways. We already had my wife's brother and niece (she's away in college and probably not moving back home permanently once she graduates) both contribute to our streaming bill and now my mom does too. For my mom, that means cutting her AT&T Uverse bill from $130 or $140 a month to $50 for internet and then about $20 to us for YTTV, Hulu, and Netflix. My wife's brother and niece each Venmo about the same amount to us (a little more since they're using HBO and Showtime).

So I think if there's any benefit to this streaming future it's that:

  1. You can watch your stuff whenever and wherever, ever if it's in different homes.
  2. You can easily split the bill with other people in your family, still making things considerably less.

Now, if you're on your own, there's not much benefit, but even then, friends are always looking to save money. My cheap ass friend who won't pay full price for anything goes in half with me on the WWE Network and NJPW World, which winds up being $10 each. 

Of course, all of this will change if these streaming services take the next shitty step and lock you down to one device per account, but most of these (YTTV, Hulu, and Netflix in particular) outright say you can watch on multiple devices at the same time.

EDIT: And I just now realized I didn't include Amazon Prime for anyone when Amazon itself lets you split the bill without resorting to something like Venmo. We don't charge anyone for Prime just because the amount we save on shipping with Prime makes the streaming service the icing on the cake.

Edited by Craig H
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44 minutes ago, Craig H said:

Of course, all of this will change if these streaming services take the next shitty step and lock you down to one device per account, but most of these (YTTV, Hulu, and Netflix in particular) outright say you can watch on multiple devices at the same time.

I would like to think all involved realize that would be the dumbest decision they can ever do.  Not saying it won't happen but if that comes to pass then there'll be a big rise in torrents and other ways to get the content without paying a cent for their service.

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On 7/9/2019 at 11:13 PM, Niners Fan in CT said:

   How many times can you watch Stars Wars or a Marvel movie or Lion King?  I think the answer is a lot.. 

Little kids will happily watch the same Disney movie every day for a year. For five years.

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4 hours ago, AxB said:

Little kids will happily watch the same Disney movie every day for a year. For five years.

Yes and grown ups will watch Seinfeld and Friends over and over and over again for the rest of their lives as seen with Friends being the second most popular show on Netflix.  @Brian Fowler mentioned the price point for the service,  I do think it's a little high but if anyone thinks Disney+ is going to remain $6.99 for long... it will not happen.   Also,  their adult content with be on Hulu.  So it's not really $6.99,  it's really $6.99 in addition to whatever Hulu package you will have IF your plan is to get all of the Disney content. 

I don't think this is being viewed the right way.   It's been said that at least for now the DC streaming service and HBO Now will remain the same.  So I'm guessing this will be a tier system for Warnermedia where if you want everything you pay for HBO Max.  If you just want HBO proper then you have HBO Now which I'd assume would drop their price.  If you want just DC you just pay for DC.  Etc.    HBO Max is everything combined plus the Warner movie and TV catalog and all the shows that are being developed for HBO Max.  

Also,   one movie is one movie.  I can watch Avengers and then watch Avengers again, sure.  I can do the same for Lion King.  But for Seinfeld there are 200+ episodes?  I can watch all the seasons and then by the time I'm done maybe I'm ready to watch it all over again. 

Netflix needs more hits than misfires. Right now for every Stranger Things there are many shows that are terrible or painfully average or that people just don't care about. 

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