AT&T will have a premium streaming service this fall

[NashGuy]

I wouldn't pay it. The channel count is high and their brands are well-known, but the content doesn't look all that attractive to me. If DC Universe and Warner Brothers end up amounting to something, I'd probably pay around $8 to get them along with TNT. HBO and Cinemax are just too seasonal (and have too much overlap) to warrant a full-time subscription in my mind.

Boomerang used to be a bonus but I wonder anymore.

Ha. What would/do you actually spend money on, in terms of TV? For my tastes, HBO Max will have a lot more hours of quality content than Netflix 4K for the same price. At $16, I no longer keep Netflix year-round. There are some gems on there but they're floating in a sea of mediocre, unfamiliar stuff. And Netflix has become a pretty barren source for movies (other than Netflix's own original films). I would keep HBO Max for most of the year, maybe year-round.

HBO and Cinemax already have a combined total US subscriber count of about 55 million. Only a fraction of those subscribe to both; my educated guesstimate is that the number with HBO is around 40 million. HBO by itself (whether as a standalone streaming subscription or an add-on to a cable channel bundle) currently costs $15. (Actually, a few MPVDs charge more, as much as $18.) Cinemax typically costs $10-12. So, as the numbers show, HBO and Cinemax are already doing quite well, surpassed only by Netflix, at about 65 million US subs (and likely approaching peak saturation here).

Combining HBO and Cinemax, along with a whole lot of additional ad-free content that appeals to broader tastes/ages/demographics, for just another $1-2 more than HBO alone costs now should result in some significant subscriber gains (especially among non-cable TV subscribers who aren't otherwise able to access any of the current basic cable content from TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network, etc.). I don't see how this service -- along with the introductions of Disney+ and Apple TV+, as well as the growth of Hulu, don't start eating into Netflix's US subscriber numbers.

 

[VictoriaFTA]

Amazon Prime Video: $10 per month
CBS All Access: $10 per month
Disney+: $7 per month
HBO Max: $16 per month
Hulu: $12 per month
Netflix: $16 per month

$71 a month. Welcome to the new cable. I'm being generous too and not even including all the lesser known platforms like the upcoming Comcast/NBCUniversal one. Then there's the chaos of having to switch between a billion different apps instead of being able to search for anything through one universal interface. And then having to deal with some of the platforms being less technically competent than others. Hulu for example has potato quality stereo audio and no 4K streams but Netflix has 4K HDR + Atmos 5.1 audio so after you get done watching the latest Netflix original in great quality you feel like you've just traveled back in time a decade when you start watching the latest Hulu original.

No thanks. I'll stick to my private Plex collating all this content in one place, on one platform.

 

[harshness]

What would/do you actually spend money on, in terms of TV?

Mostly stuff that I haven't seen already. HBO/Cinemax doesn't offer a whole lot of that. I also watch old series that I missed the first time around. HBO/Cinemax doesn't offer as much as they could (other than to support their feature-length movies; i.e. Deadwood).

HBO and Cinemax already have a combined total US subscriber count of about 55 million.

A count that has taken a bludgeoning on the conclusion of GoT. HBO says they are going to ramp up their original series production by some large percentage but that's not why I used to subscribe.

That Netflix, a service that I dropped earlier this year, is more popular than the two movie plexes combined and has a long track record of producing great original series and Amazon Prime with their arguably broader offering of great original series have more subscribers that both the AT&T properties combined suggests something about the relativity of your tastes. Even if people subscribe to Amazon Prime just for the shopping benefits, that's a large group of would-be subscribers that perhaps isn't beating a path to HBO and Cinemax. The Netflix and Amazon brands are taking over in terms of recognition whether or not their content is the best.

Few question where Netflix and Amazon are going but many question how HBO and Cinemax (and Showtime and Starz) are going to claw their way back as old-school pay TV options continue to fade.

I don't mean to suggest that HBO doesn't have some gems in its library, just that they're way to few and far between given how many hours of lesser or narrow appeal content that they have.

 

[mwdxer1]

Just one of many indicator that more things are moving to streaming and subscription services..

Read more below.

AT&T will reveal its premium WarnerMedia streaming service in early fall

I just read on another site that AT&T is planing 3 tiers, the budget one will offer a bunch of movies. The customer gets more as the tiers go up. I figured with HBO/Cinemax/Warner all for $16-$17 a month sounded a bit too good to be true. It is still a ways out. Time will tell...

 

[mwdxer1]

Amazon Prime Video: $10 per month
CBS All Access: $10 per month
Disney+: $7 per month
HBO Max: $16 per month
Hulu: $12 per month
Netflix: $16 per month

$71 a month. Welcome to the new cable. I'm being generous too and not even including all the lesser known platforms like the upcoming Comcast/NBCUniversal one. Then there's the chaos of having to switch between a billion different apps instead of being able to search for anything through one universal interface. And then having to deal with some of the platforms being less technically competent than others. Hulu for example has potato quality stereo audio and no 4K streams but Netflix has 4K HDR + Atmos 5.1 audio so after you get done watching the latest Netflix original in great quality you feel like you've just traveled back in time a decade when you start watching the latest Hulu original.

No thanks. I'll stick to my private Plex collating all this content in one place, on one platform.

With streaming, a person can pick and choose what they want. Sub to one service for a while, drop it and pick up another. You don't have to spend money like for cable/satellite.

 

[harshness]

With streaming, a person can pick and choose what they want.

Just because OTT currently has no commitment doesn't mean you can pick and choose what you want. Few services check all the boxes and even if they have the right channels, they may not deliver on the experience in terms of DVR features or granularity of their offering (offering just-right packaging). This will take time to iron out as the content owners still cling fast to the all-or-nothing suite offerings.

 

[Zookster]

With streaming, a person can pick and choose what they want. Sub to one service for a while, drop it and pick up another. You don't have to spend money like for cable/satellite.

Just because OTT currently has no commitment doesn't mean you can pick and choose what you want. Few services check all the boxes and even if they have the right channels, they may not deliver on the experience in terms of DVR features or granularity of their offering (offering just-right packaging). This will take time to iron out as the content owners still cling fast to the all-or-nothing suite offerings.

Based on the list VictoriaFTF had posted and that mwdxer1 had quoted:

Amazon Prime Video: $10 per month
CBS All Access: $10 per month
Disney+: $7 per month
HBO Max: $16 per month
Hulu: $12 per month
Netflix: $16 per month

mwdxer1 is obviously referring to video on demand services (not MVPD services like PS Vue, Sling YouTube TV etc.). So yes, you can pick and choose what you want in terms of alternating subscriptions among the various services depending on your needs, time, wallet, and interests. That's exactly what I do on top of my YTTV subscription. And what many people who don't have an MVPD service do. Two months ago I dropped Netflix for the first time since 2012 to focus on HBO Now and Prime. This month I got (another) free month of CBS All Access and three free months of Showtime, so I'll drop HBO at the end of the month. I'll return to Netflix sometime later this summer, and Hulu later this year for my annual "free month" offer.

I've also heard of people subbing to an MVPD service just during football season, or alternating their MVPD depending on the season/time of year. So even if you throw MVPDs into the discussion, his point holds.

 

[mwdxer1]

Based on the list VictoriaFTF had posted and that mwdxer1 had quoted:



mwdxer1 is obviously referring to video on demand services (not MVPD services like PS Vue, Sling YouTube TV etc.). So yes, you can pick and choose what you want in terms of alternating subscriptions among the various services depending on your needs, time, wallet, and interests. That's exactly what I do on top of my YTTV subscription. And what many people who don't have an MVPD service do. Two months ago I dropped Netflix for the first time since 2012 to focus on HBO Now and Prime. This month I got (another) free month of CBS All Access and three free months of Showtime, so I'll drop HBO at the end of the month. I'll return to Netflix sometime later this summer, and Hulu later this year for my annual "free month" offer.

That is what I meant. I guess I did not explain it well. VOD is great. With so many young people that stream Hulu or Netflix, this is what they want. My son watches a lot of Family Guy and will watch episode after episode. He thinks cable/satellite is a total waste of time and money. He also hates ads.

I've also heard of people subbing to an MVPD service just during football season, or alternating their MVPD depending on the season/time of year. So even if you throw MVPDs into the discussion, his point holds.