Once considered a DC fan’s paradise, HBO Max is the dedicated Warner Bros. streaming platform. Sadly, due to Warner Bros.’ questionable business model, that is no longer the case. Warner Bros. has continued to sell the streaming rights to several of its most popular titles, all the way up until the company’s sale. Despite being the streaming home of all Warner Bros. content, HBO Max has less than half of DC’s media library available.
HBO Max was Warner Bros.’ streaming home
It’s essentially DC Studios’ Batcave
Credit: Lucas Gouveia/How-To Geek
At one point, Warner Bros. was considered the pinnacle of film studios. They had incredible titles like Harry Potter, The Matrix, and Looney Tunes, as well as every single film from DC’s impressive cinematic and animated universes. As a child, I foolishly thought it was the only movie studio because all of my favorite films had the same logo. For most of my childhood, and a good portion of my adulthood, Warner Bros. was undeniably at the top. When other companies switched to a streaming format, W.B. was quick to follow.
I purchased HBO Max shortly after it was announced in 2020, since having all my favorite DC shows at my fingertips was too alluring to pass up. At its peak, it had everything, from DC’s Timmverse to the extremely popular DCAMU, making it one of the most successful streaming services in existence.
At its peak, HBO subscribers had access to every season of Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons, Batman: The Long Halloween Parts 1 and 2, Batman: Soul of the Dragon, and more iconic pieces of DC cinema, both classic and otherwise. The company might have had fewer subscribers than other services in 2023, but Variety reported HBO Max had the highest customer satisfaction rate compared to its competitors.
HBO Max subscribers were truly living in a golden age. It seemed like the company understood what fans were there for and was actively listening to its fan base. Unfortunately, the parent companies’ financial losses, spurred on by unsuccessful films, would soon fall to the streaming service, and the rights to many of its most popular titles would be needlessly sold away.
The streaming service has one glaring issue
Bye-bye animation
Credit: Warner Bros. Discovery
DC has struggled for several reasons, including box office bombs, franchise flops, and poor management. However, all of those factors combined have only made it more advantageous to sell their most profitable titles. HBO Max maintained several core titles from the DC live-action and animated worlds, but a vast majority of its library was lost to streaming deals.
Titles like Batman: Gotham by Gaslight and Justice League: A New Frontier were forced onto other services. Films and series that might have saved Warner Bros. were sold to make a quick profit. This decision might have temporarily saved the company, but it alienated its greatest fan base.
Many of the most important DC projects have left the platform. Several fans who only subscribed for superhero action feel completely cheated. Many of these fans have canceled their memberships after realizing they won’t be able to access their favorite content.
Warner Bros. might lose one of its core audiences over a lack of content
What’s left to watch?
Credit: Warner Bros. Discovery
At this point, Warner Bros. couldn’t even win back its most outspoken audience because many of its greatest films are wrapped up in deals. Producing a film doesn’t necessarily mean the company will have the streaming rights. While several other companies have adapted Warner Bros.’ sales strategy, HBO Max is definitely worse off regarding its own content. These days, HBO Max only has several of its animated shows left and less than half of the movies, like Young Justice, Ninja Batman: Yakuza League, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Superman the Animated Series, The Batman, and several of their most popular titles, in distant comparison to their previous lineup.
Compared to companies like Disney, this puts them at a disadvantage. Disney apparently understands the value of its intricate franchises and has become incredibly protective of its intellectual properties. The only place to find content like Star Wars and the MCU movies is Disney+. However, the entertainment giant isn’t devoid of its own issues. Disney famously doesn’t have the rights to several Spider-Man films and cannot show its Marvel characters in certain parks.
One of DC Studio’s biggest advantages is its wide variety of intricate content released over literal decades. Shipping those titles off to other platforms has alienated a large portion of their fan base. Not every DC fan likes the new DCU or DCAU, so the fact that those titles are what is primarily available is more off-putting than anything.
The services’ lineup might only get worse after recent deals
Is there any hope for HBO Max’s Future?
Credit: Lucas Gouveia/How-To Geek
Warner Bros. recently accepted Netflix’s bid to acquire the studio and streaming platform. This deal could change streaming forever, and it’s concerning, to say the least. Netflix paid more to expedite the hand-off, and there has been no news about Warner Bros.’ future.
Although the deal technically saves Warner Bros. from going under, nearly every single DC fan is anxious. DC Studios has had a terrible couple of years. Even James Gunn’s recent success hasn’t been enough to dispel the company’s financial woes. Gunn is a talented director, but DC’s problems have been going on for decades. The companies’ highly anticipated deal with Netflix will likely go one of two ways.
First, Netflix could absorb many of the DC titles that it doesn’t already have access to into its already gigantic streaming library, which could increase its streaming tier prices. The other option is that Netflix continues to run the popular streaming service, like Disney+ temporarily did with Hulu.
The future remains uncertain for one of streaming’s biggest players
HBO Max could disappear faster than Wonder Woman’s Invisible Jet
Ultimately, only time will tell if the Warner Bros. deal with Netflix completely alienates DC fans or if it could finally give them access to the titles they have desperately been craving. There was a time when HBO Max was considered the peak of streaming services. It’s now up to Netflix to either fix its relationship with its most profitable franchise or ruin it forever.
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Simultaneous streams
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Live TV
Live sports available in Standard and Premium plans
Price
Starting at $10.99/month or $109.99/year
