this post was submitted on 14 May 2025
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[–] [email protected] 2 points 18 hours ago

somehow

I mean, it's pretty straightforward...

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 day ago

HBO Sometimes Max

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago

Your detransition is very valid nyah

[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 day ago

The original change dropping HBO was one of the stupidest branding changes I've ever seen (and there's a lot of competition). To be honest, they'd be better off dropping the Max part instead.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

That's like apple putting out a new same sized phone with no new options, but a different model number.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Don't forget... people got paid huge amounts to make these decisions 🙄

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

And paid huge amounts to pay for the marketing materials for the change. All when most people still called it HBO

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

It's not about the destination, it's about all the managers who got bonuses along the way!

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

subscribed to Max

found zero Max Verstappen race wins

cancelled

[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Ah, I almost forgot it was officially called Max, they kept the brand 'HBO Max' here. During the rebrand they found out we already had a public broadcaster called 'Omroep MAX', which is often shortened to just MAX in the names of their programs. Trying to claim that name would probably have not gone well for HBO.

[–] [email protected] 147 points 2 days ago (6 children)

Companies that reach a certain critical mass really truly become incompetent. I don't mean just evil or profit first, I mean simply incompetent at the most basic aspects of running a business. There are marketing departments that behave as if the entire team is composed of interns frantically googling marketing slang.

Warner Bros, Hasbro, Apple, they're carried by the inertia of their gigantic size and the customers that were alive to have moulded their vision about the company during their good years.

[–] [email protected] 63 points 2 days ago

Companies that reach a certain critical mass really truly become incompetent

It's by design.

The guy who creates a game studio to make his own game understands everything about making it.

The AAA studio that buys them out kinda understands games but care more about profit than any individual IP, so the game suffers.

The giant corporation that buys the AAA studio doesn't give a fuck about games in general because it's a small slice of a giant pie. They use the CEO position there as a training spot for executives that don't understand anything about games.

It applies to any industry, but no one can out bid the giant corporations and they have to keep buying stuff up to maintain profit increases.

Eventually they'll cannabilze everything till there's 2-3 options then eventually just one.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 2 days ago

They don't even need to reach critical mass. The last place I was at was a shitshow held together by a handful of overachievers. At every level there were idiots making decisions and protecting friendly mouth-breathers. And when we would contact the Big Players in the industry, it was much the same on their end. It got to the point where I had to remind people that just because you're calling Big Name Brand, the person you're talking to is you. And they report to Dave (the know-nothing manager we all worked under). Nobody has a fucking clue. So cut the person on the other end of the line some slack.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 days ago

Number must go up. Forever and ever.

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[–] [email protected] 90 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Can't wait for everyone to call it "HBO Max, formerly known as HBO Max".

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

HBO Max formerly Max formerly HBO Max formerly HBO Now formerly HBO Go.

Edit: I forgot one.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 days ago (1 children)

The channel formerly formerly known as HBO MAX.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 days ago (1 children)

The channel currently and formerly known as HBO Max

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[–] [email protected] 66 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I had a survey from them where I answered that dropping HBO from their branding was the second stupidest fucking decision they've made since Zaslav became CEO. Second only to removing legacy content and canning complete movies for tax purposes. That was maybe a month and change ago.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 2 days ago

Nice. You did it!!!

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Probably because "Max" sounds more like streaming service for cinemax than HBO. Just bad branding and arguably opens them up to copyright suit.

[–] [email protected] 43 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Inb4 it turns just to HBO and then a nameless entity. It has no name. It just exists. Like death.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 days ago

The streaming service formerly known as...

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 days ago (1 children)

A streaming service has no name.

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[–] [email protected] 43 points 2 days ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 days ago

Logo designers without much talent not originality must make a living, too.

[–] [email protected] 75 points 2 days ago (4 children)

Are they gonna bring back all the quality content they removed to replace it with reality TV?

Because that's what's dropping subscribers, no one cares about the name.

[–] [email protected] 44 points 2 days ago

They also removed 4k from the standard package while continuing to boost prices multiple times, and also filling it with sports I have no interest in. Combined with the fact the app continued to run awfully on Android TV, it made it a really easy decision to cancel

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[–] [email protected] 44 points 2 days ago

It never stopped being HBO Max to me.

/it's OK to deadname non-human entities

[–] [email protected] 57 points 2 days ago

Somehow, HBO Max returned.

[–] [email protected] 45 points 2 days ago (3 children)

They canceled all the good shows and replaced them with "reality" tv slop. No one gives a fuck what you call a trash fire, it is still a trash fire.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 2 days ago

Trash Fire MAX

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 2 days ago

Newsflash, asshole!

Everybody's been calling it HBO the entire god damned time!

[–] [email protected] 25 points 2 days ago (3 children)

If they really want customers back

  • Finish Westworld (they had one season left) and put it back on the service
  • Release the Batgirl movie
  • Release the Cyote movie (though I think they actually sold this one)
[–] [email protected] 25 points 2 days ago (2 children)
  • Bring back all the adult swim/cartoon network content they axed
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[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 days ago

Are they also renaming their plans? Can't wait to sign up to HBO Max Max

[–] [email protected] 27 points 2 days ago (2 children)

HBO was the better name. And even Cinemax is a better name than Max.

I kept calling it HBO Max after the first change.

Most CEOs of entertainment companies are just people with business degrees who wish they were creative, but just aren't.

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[–] [email protected] 23 points 2 days ago (4 children)

I think I only call it Max instead of HBO or HBO Max less than 25% of the time. This rebrand was goofy. Still not as bad as Twitter's.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago

I was wondering why the HBO Dwight Schrute meme was making the rounds again. I swear this is the corporate equivalent of changing your pronouns every month.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Please use a cw. I almost died laughing.

Damn, these companies are running around like headless chickens.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 days ago

subbed a long time ago on a cable deal. play a few movies to death on rotation. no thanks. i could rent what i wanted to see for less

[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 days ago (1 children)

polygon about to be slop too https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2025/05/gaming-news-site-polygon-gutted-by-massive-layoffs-amid-sale-to-valnet/

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