I’m old enough to remember when HBO’s entire point was you paid for cable so you wouldn’t have ads. That was their business model.
Then sometime in the late 80s or early 90s (I dunno, that decade’s kind of a blur) they started sneaking ads in between shows, but not in the middle of shows. But you were paying a higher price, with a few ads. Then they started showing ads to everyone, and still making you pay. I’m still salty about that.
This was always going to happen. They’ll compound paying PLUS ads, and you’ll like it, because what choice do you have if all services are doing it?
Fuck them all . 🏴☠️
e: massively borked that first sentence
Thank you for being a loyal subscriber. Please hold still while we fuck you
So right after I signed up at the beginning of this year, they switched from HBOMax to "Max." I paid for a year in advance, and of course when I signed up there was nothing about them switching to a new brand. All of a sudden it was full of trash reality shows and ID Discovery true crime. I have no idea what possessed them to do that.
Then once it switched over I stopped being able to stream any new HBO shows on mobile and customer service won't refund me any amount. Not that I can even communicate with them effectively. It's all "chat" with AI or people who have no idea what I'm saying. Half the shows still won't play on mobile for me.
TL;DR I paid for a year of HBO. They changed their selection a few months in. I lost mobile access to a bunch of their shows. And now I'm losing even more features before the year is up. That's quite literally not what I paid for.
How exactly is any of that legal? Genuine question. What about the Federal Trade Commission? Isn't there fucking anybody regulating these corporations in the US?
Don’t worry, they’ll raise those prices very soon.
I have never seen a company actively promoting that they have less to offer. Jesus Christ will capitalism please just come to a crashing halt already
"I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further."
The number of apps I just stopped using because of this shit is ridiculous. I feel most bad for older customers who probably don't realize they're losing features and paying more for their subscriptions. They probably don't know how to properly sail the high seas either so they don't have a choice when wanting to watch their favorite shows. Oh well fuck it, Max can keep this up until they want to join Netflix up on the dusty shelf of bullshit streaming services that can suck my dick.
Yo ho ho and a bottle of fuck corporations
Digital shrinkflation.
Got this too, I am pissed, though it won't really effect me. May look into sailing the seas again.
When contracts don't include prices
Yarr? Yarr. Yarrr!!
As a Max, I do not endorse this. Also, yarr.
I love the wording of "some features will change" and even "new features" when the only change is that features will be removed.
Time to make your own discount
I'd give them a call: "i don't mind these changes for 65% of the previous fee, unless you want me to cancel right here right now".
See if they are willing to compensate, if not just cancel and yarr matey.
It's just entertainment in the end, nothing we can't live without or have loads of replacements available.
They're just trying to save you money!! Encouraging you to quit their fuckin scam and sail the seas
Getting rid of 4k streaming was a deal breaker for me. Literally watched one movie we'd been putting off last night just so I could cancel today.
Have you heard of pirate bay?
Max would be in my cancellation list if it wasn't because I get it for free because my cable provider from 2013 is too incompetent to update their database with the fact that I haven't owned that condo since 2015. Netflix is hanging on by a thread.
I currently pay for Paramount+ (great value) and Dropout (support indie creators). Prime doesn't count because I pay for it for the shipping, but once they start with ads, I'll stop watching it.
We're back to that place where the hassle of piracy is worth it again. The problem for studios is that technology has come a long way since the last time people had to think about "cord cutting" through piracy, and it's just too easy to do it now. The second golden age of television is coming to an end.
the 'download' offering is funny because you know it's not a real download you can have faith in, it's some fake bullshit where they're allowed to let you hit a button
They realized that Netflix is heading six feet under , Amazon sucks so they can go back to making profit.
the enshittification continues. how do you continue to grow when everyone is either already a customer or would never become one under any circumstances? you make the product worse and more expensive.
🏴☠️
My prediction is that people will get fed up with this and just stop subscribing to these services. Eventually they companies will give up on the gouging and all their content will reappear on Netflix, and we'll all end up back in 2013.
Cancelled my subscription yesterday because of this.
I canceled when they raised the price. I am DONE with all the price increases the past year.
Two devices is lunacy.
Call your bank and ask about a charge back.
Is the selection even that good on HBO max? I know it probably has all the HBO shows but what I it like movie wise (for context in my country there is no HBO)
Oh BTW op just to let you know I removed your post about this on lemmy shit posting because it wasn't relevant (it's a shitposting community). Just to let you know.
I got the email yesterday and went ahead and canceled. All the months of zero content during the writer's strike made it pretty easy to do away with a lot of these streaming services. Gotta vote with that wallet!
RRRRRRR ME MATEY. SEEMS TO ME YOU NEED TO BE SAILING THE SEAS. SHALL I RECOMMEND A SEA SHANTY FOR US TO SING?
Know what would solve this problem once and for all? If people collectively decided to boycott "popular culture" and entertain themselves without bowing to the copyright industry
Thanks for sharing. I found I got the same email so I canceled immediately. Guess I'll just watch those shows else where for free 🦜🏴☠️
We appreciate you being a loyal subscriber. For that, we are going to fuck you. Sincerely
Phew so glad I canceled when they changed to Max. That was a sign. Plus, all the other bad news that came with it.
Yarr harr fiddle de-dee…
Don't worry, the inevitable price increase isn't until next week.
will you pay them the same amount for less service?
Yar har, fiddle de dee
I gave up on this a few months back as I found better alternatives. To be honest, it was a bit expensive and I was looking for ways to save money each month. There are better alternatives out there which you can definitely consider and save money on it.
