HBO Max Isn’t Worth the Price Just Yet

When it comes to streaming, HBO already had one foot inside the door with HBO Now and HBO Go. Looking to gain more ground on competitors, AT&T wanted to expand on that service and offer a larger library for its share of the market. Unfortunately for viewers, HBO Max is already missing the mark.

First, while they own WarnerMedia, DC, and a host of other services, their streaming service is really limited so far. For instance, the rights to Warner Bros. properties would have you believe you can load up and watch any of your old favorites and recent movies you might have missed out on. While It: Chapter 2 is on HBO and available to stream, if you missed the original or 2017 iteration and wanted to see what all the fuss was about, guess you’re out of luck.

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Then of course there are the DC properties. Any comic book fan would salivate at the chance to catch up on old favorites and relive the glory days of Batman films. Again, good luck timing it just right as most of their properties will be on a rotating schedule. Whether or not this has anything to do with their smaller DC Universe streaming service is left up in the air but as a strategy, it’s a head-scratcher.

And speaking of the DC Universe counterpart, what will end up happening there. So far it has exclusive rights to Titans and Harley Quinn. Shows like Doom Patrol and Stargirl will be splitting time between HBO Max (Doom Patrol) and The CW (Stargirl). Unless you’re into reading comics, they’ve alienated those who already have that service. They’re also developing Zack Snyder’s Justice League, a Green Lantern live-action, and fans want the Ayer cut Suicide Squad.

Sure, owning the rights to Friends and Rick and Morty is cool, but HBO Max has a long way to go before claiming they’re the same premium service as HBO was to cable, especially at a premium price. Right now, HBO Max is one of the most expensive streaming services on the market but has little to justify its price tag. Die-hard Harry Potter fans might love watching all 8 movies, but even the Fantastic Beasts only has the most recent movie on there.

HBO Max did a lot of advertising to pitch the next big streaming service, but so far they’re falling flat.