The first thing is to get used to the interface, which has a top navigation bar divided into five buttons: Home, Series, Movies, HBO and New and Featured (for now everything is in English, of course). Although the buttons to divide the content are basic, the one for HBO is more interesting, since It will allow you to filter and avoid having to navigate through everything that has been added to Max since Discovery. This is not a bad option in view of the fact that the tonnage that the Discovery catalog has is more than respectable and greatly affects those who were used to using HBO Max to see a different type of content.
In my opinion, I have to admit that the impact that finding all that extra content has had on me it has not finished convincing me. But, objectively, I cannot say that it is a client that fits the model that the new Max is surely looking for. The proposal that is offered, in general, is closer to Netflix than you can imagine, moving away from the cinematic and pop culture style that characterized HBO Max. Do you remember when big movie releases came to HBO from day one? So we saw movies like Mortal Kombat or the new installment of the Matrix. That kind of approach is gone and I’m afraid it won’t be coming back, at least not anytime soon.
Max’s identity has evolved, he has decided to put HBO aside, although he keeps it very present as I mentioned because of the button in the navigation bar. But it is not the main objective because, possibly, the income figures that Warner was obtaining were not enough. The company needed to do something different if you wanted to get a higher return. The question is whether it will work out or not.
Discovery content
If you like what this platform has to offer, and that it has now been added to Max, you’re in luck. There’s no denying that the muscle that Discovery brings to the service’s new identity is enormous. There is variety and quantity, with so many reality shows, documentaries and other similar spaces that it is almost impossible not to find something that is of interest of each viewer. Even in my case, I don’t have much interest in these programs, I have come across a couple of reproductions that lured me dangerously down a rabbit hole that would have been difficult for me to get out of.
Discovery has incorporated the most popular content from its fashion channels: Food Network, HGTV, TLC and Magnolia Network. In the main navigation menu there are buttons that take you to each of them, as well as selections of thumbnails that show their most current or most outstanding content. However, if we talk about the main menu, the Start menu, you have to admit that Warner has been smart and it has interspersed the rows of content very well so that a bad reaction does not occur among the user. Thus, as you can see in the video that we have attached to this article, as you scroll you find selections that go from “Discover the DC Multiverse” to “Documentaries for everyone” and then “Come home to Magnolia Network” . This way of arranging highlights is efficient and helps make browsing more enjoyable.
Perhaps the problem in this regard is that, apart from Discovery, Max also has his own documentaries and that, in general terms, everything is a bit tiring. Unlike this, the cinema is given rather little presence. Another problem is that featured content is repeated excessively. Thus, it is possible to find Harry Potter in a multitude of categories, as is the case with, for example, Friends.
Quantity or quality?
Right now, it sounds like Max is betting for quantity. And it will not be until a few months from now when the effects of his change in strategy begin to be seen. I do want to mention to you, so that you can better understand my point of view, some of the surprises that I have found while reviewing Max’s content. For example, when I was interested in the most cutting-edge and popular content on Discovery, I have come to the heart of the House Hunters program, which has a whopping 197 seasons. Wait, you didn’t read wrong. Seasons, not episodes. It’s not that the seasons are especially long and the episodes are 20 minutes long, but it’s almost 200 seasons (divided into volumes so you don’t choke). That awful! The surprise was great to see that House Hunters International with 169 seasons is also available.
Add to that the 53 seasons of Chopped, as well as countless other shows that can also be binge-watched forever, and you can see that, proportionately, the content is dominated by these kinds of shows. When Warner proudly says that Max has over 35,000 hours of contentWe know you’re not kidding. On the other side of the scale, yes, there is South Park and its 26 seasons that give enough war to balance.
The cinema that has been added, especially the classic, is guilty of being scarce. We have all-time great titles, like Casablanca, Little Shop of Horrors, The Shining or Young Frankenstein. Not only are there films from the film production company itself, but Warner is signing transfer agreements at maximum speed to reinforce its catalogue. For example, among the latest content, some of the X-Men movies have been added, so the DC characters are fine. accompanied by some Marvel.
For the children I liked seeing the Ghibli section and the great Sesame Street episode librarybut remember that I am testing the service in the United States and that it does not always have the same content as the platform in Spain.
Max has to improve
Regardless of whether you are more or less interested in Discovery content, it is obvious that Max has to improve if it is to become a streaming service that can lead the market. Today, especially seeing the new content with which this evolution of the platform has been released, it seems that Warner has put little desire and a little push on its launch.
Either those responsible for the streaming service have secret plans for the future that allow them to hit the table or this new identity does not quite paint well. If I ask myself if I would renew the subscription now that I have seen how it has changed, I probably would not. At least, not until they reconnect with me as a user. Warners can do a lot to achieve that, but what they’re offering right now isn’t enough to convince me. Of course, it is also true that I am not going to unsubscribe Max for two simple reasons: Friends and Harry Potter. The eternal revisionists are already part of the daily life of the family. But really, I hope it gets better.
