HBO Max Layoffs and the streaming wars

Viewing 5 posts - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #277968
    Vknid
    Moderator

      So as many of you know HBO Max is doing mass layoffs.  I have seen some folks say this is due to them doing poorly.  I guess it is possible but I think it has more to do with the sale of HBO Max to Discovery.  It is typical for a house cleaning to occur after a sale.

      But I think there is a larger theme here as it relates to the streaming wars.

      We all know Netflix was first in this and it acted as a content aggregator hosting content from content makers (studios). But after years of that the content makers decided to try to do the streaming themselves of their own content (I assume this was due in part to the technology to do so being much more available).

      But I think they are finding out 2 things.  Streaming infrastructure costs are high and it is difficult to have enough content (even for a studio) to keep people subscribed long term.

      What happens next?

      Well I think the streaming companies will stick it out for a bit longer until they realize it is a losing battle.  Then there will either be a mass consolidation (creating content aggregation) or someone will once again become a content aggregator.  It might be Netflix sure, but I have a sneaking suspicion it will be someone new to the scene with more of an open mind that Netflix.

      #277982
      Mustangride1
      Moderator

        They are laying off the Woke Activist is what I have heard.

        The economy is not as good as the Demonrat and the Media fleas who ride on them are saying, and Studio execs are seeing it in viewer drops. You also have to take in to account Covid, yup the coof is still very real in many places for the lock-downs and mandates making it harder. We all can see that no reason to explain.

        What is happening is they (the Execs) cannot come outright and say GO WOKE, GO UNEMPLOYED, BEFORE WE GO BROKE. But they can start removing them under other pretense. Bat-girl down, Super-girl looks next, and Flash I am thinking might get shelved and then released later after all the Ezra crap cools off. Another possibility is if Amber Turd get completely cut-out or recast and re-shot for Aqua-man.

        Do I think Disney will start cleaning house? I honestly cannot say, there was a time the Shareholders would have already acted, but I think the ticks are dug in deep on the mouse.

        Lastly with so many streaming services now the competition for viewers is hurting and when your Actors and Show Runners alienate half the Audience when they open their cock-holsters it cost money the studios do not have to loose. As well as the “Binge Model” is so stupid. HBO should have known better, Game of Thrones weekly was a massive boost for them. And look what they are doing for HOTD its weekly. That is the format to keep viewers always has been. That and how many HBO’s are their now? Holy Shit if HBO was toilet paper the world would be supplied forever :)

        Na, It is a lot of things going on, but in all reality, my belief is we are seeing the Woke ideology finally catching up with them all, and they cannot come out and say We fucked up. So they are using other excuses to remove the problems as best they can, before they go broke. We won’t know for sure for at least another year or two for certain. But we can start looking for signs this is what has happened.

        And remember take this all with a grain of salt, sources are never reliable, KK is still burning the house of the mouse to the ground and we have been told many times “sources say she is out”

        #277983
        Vknid
        Moderator

          As far as HBO Max layoffs go.  It’s far more simple than getting rid of the woke.  It just got sold to another streaming service so it’s just a force reduction for probably mostly redundant positions.  That is super common in buyouts and mergers.

          Now, overall, I still believe these services will either consolidate or aggregate in the end.  There is just not enough value in any one provider to pay $10 a month indefinitely for.

          #278003
          Mustangride1
          Moderator

            Yet people are still Paying for HBO $15.99 a month, Cinemax $19.99, Showtime $11.00, Stars$15.99 a month and Netflix is over $13.00 a month. Granted prices might vary between providers. But they have been paying for these services for decades. So thinking people will not pay for them, goes against proven history. Will there be mergers? Maybe.  Maybe not.

            #278004
            Vknid
            Moderator

              Well sure, people will pay for it as an add-on and historically that is what those services have been. So in that case the cable company was the aggregator.    But once it is it’s own entity the value proposition becomes different to the customer.  Hence the falling numbers for many of the streaming services like Disney+.  It’s also a different deal for the content maker.  If they let someone else host their content that is one thing.  But if they have to have the infrastructure for streaming to host it themselves.  Well now it costs something and it is not a trivial amount.  And if we take HBO Max as an example, it was sold to another streaming service.  So there is already consolidation and or aggregation. And I think that will continue until maybe there are 2 or 3 major streaming services.  And Netflix might not be one of them.

              Ultimately I suspect content makers will end up just content makers and the streaming services will be different companies.

            Viewing 5 posts - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
            • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

            Subscribe to our mailing list to get the new updates!

            SIGN UP FOR UPDATES!

            NAVIGATION