I mean, it’s trying real hard to play catch-up to the Mouse. But that sentence says it all, doesn’t it? Warner Bros. (the folks behind HBO Max) doesn’t have the immediate brand identification that Disney enjoys, and it shows. I’m also not getting why they’re not bundling the DC streaming service directly into HBO Max, either. Disney+ had to combine Star Wars, Marvel, National Geographic, and Disney’s own core materials to get a viable streaming platform; does anybody in Warner think that they’re going to get people to buy two different platforms?
Moe Lane
PS: I think that an answer to this problem might be copyright reform. Twenty-five years after first publication, then done. Somebody will be happy to curate pre-1995 collections of movies, TV shows, and radio broadcasts; and, shorn of the illusory promise of their backlists*, the studios can realistically price what it’s worth to have free access to their current inventory. But what do I know? I’m just this guy on the Internet.
*I don’t really think that non-Mouse studios have an appealing enough backlist to justify a permanent subscription. Heck, arguably Disney doesn’t, either.