HBO Max is a "damn mess" with a "lazy and kind of gross" presentation

Gizmodo

"HBO Max was supposed to launch as the new, jam-packed streaming service of our wildest dreams—an HBO Now revamped, essentially, with all of HBO’s library plus all of WarnerMedia’s vast catalog," says Catie Keck. "But despite the fanfare, HBO Max launched this week as a muddled mix of confusing brand identities that neither honors HBO’s high-bar legacy nor gives a clear idea of what Max is trying to be. Instead of being the best new thing in streaming services, we got a hodgepodge of oddball brands shuffled in together without any apparent cohesion. HBO Max is a damn mess, and it’s ruining an otherwise great service that viewers loved." Keck adds: "A super-stuffed service with something for just about everyone is definitely exciting in theory. But the presentation in its current form is lazy and kind of gross. HBO Now has always felt like a service for viewers who value quality over quantity—the anti-Netflix. HBO had all but mastered the art of good, quality content—even for kids!—as well as showcasing and curating those films and series in a way that felt, as departed longtime and award-securing HBO chief Richard Plepler put it, 'bespoke.' But then the AT&T takeover of Time Warner happened, essentially ensuring that HBO’s well-oiled machine would not continue on business as usual." ALSO: HBO Max app was reportedly downloaded 90,000 times on launch day -- a far cry from Disney+'s 4 million launch day downloads.