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HBO MAX to be bundled with HBO subscriptions, meaning Crunchyroll and Adult Swim programming as well


Jman

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https://www.indiewire.com/2019/10/hbo-max-free-att-1202184958/

HBO MAX, as some of you know, is going to be WarnerMedia’s big super service, combining HBO, Rooster Teeth, Adult Swim/Toonami, and Crunchyroll into the Megazord of streaming.  (The individual services will still be available separately).  Giving people who subscribe to HBO but would be uninterested in Toonami or Crunchyroll HBO MAX would dramatically increase the reach of their offerings.

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12 minutes ago, elfie said:

All this begs the question: .......... will this affect what the cable channels show? If Rick and Morty airs new episodes on HBO Max, will we be able to see the same episodes on cable too, or not? Where will premieres air first?

If it’s anything like HBO Go, you’re probably looking at next day delivery.  Morty will air 9-10pm Sunday, it will be up 1am EST Monday.

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Rick and Morty will continue to premiere on Adult Swim and season 4 will be added to HBO Max sometime after it airs. I'd guess 6-12 months after depending on when season 4 ends. The Adult Swim section on HBO Max will be a curated selection of shows and basically just be where the series will be available instead of Hulu. I can't say for certain (because I have no insider info whatsoever) but I'm expecting at least a good many AS originals will still stream their backlog on the Adult Swim app and website but there may be some shows that will only have all their episodes available at one time on HBO Max. Overall the Adult Swim section of HBO Max just seems like a big fat F U to Hulu but the now Disney controlled Hulu probably would have gotten rid of at least most of the AS originals eventually anyway. HBO Max getting South Park is a much bigger F U to Hulu.

It sounds like the Crunchyroll section of HBO Max will by no means replace CR as a service or weaken the value of having a CR subscription. I would be surprised if CR on HBO Max includes any series the CR didn't co-produce or is the master licensor of. The likes of Re:Zero, KonoSuba and Shield Hero are very probable but I don't think they'll be able to include series like My Hero Academia, Dragon Ball Super, Attack on Titan, Boruto or Sword Art Online. They probably will not be allowed to include backlog series from distributors such as RightStuf/Nozomi, Aniplex, Discotek, Toei, Sunrise, Sentai Filmworks, etc. The biggest question is if they will offer any simulcasts at all or if they will only upload series in batches? I'm leaning toward no simulcasts but it could go either way for Crunchyroll's own licenses. If they do not offer any simulcasts much less all the simulcasts for that season then VRV might actually survive, especially if HiDive and some of the other ad-ons want to stay bundled but cannot or do not want to be part of HBO Max. It would probably be better for VRV to close up shop though leaving only a reasonably priced Crunchyroll subscription and perhaps a special bundle to allow access to the full CR service to HBO Max subscribers.

DC Universe is more than likely on the chopping block soon unless the comic portion is considered a big enough value. Little to nothing has been said of DC animated series for HBO Max despite Max declaring it will have all the DC films along with a new live-action DC series. Perhaps DC Universe will become even more animation focused while live-action productions move to HBO Max but as a subscriber to DCU I gotta say, I see no reason not to fold that library entirely into HBO Max. I don't want to pay 15 bucks a month for HBO Max and also have to pay 10 a month for VRV or 7 a month for Crunchyroll in addition to 7 a month for DCU. That's 30+ bucks a month on its own. I admittedly don't make use of the comic part of DCU but I'd definitely give that up to cut some costs but still have access to DC's animated series and features.

The fact that CN has two series being sent directly to HBO Max is somewhat concerning. I'm also a bit frustrated that TBS didn't air Close Enough and now it will be an HBO Max exclusive and of course genLOCK season 2 is premiering on HBO Max as well. Those things aside, I don't see HBO Max as the death knell for CN much less Adult Swim, at least not for several more years. I could see Rick & Morty season 6 onward premiering on HBO Max if season 4 and 5's TV ratings disappoint but there's really no telling what can happen in the next 3-5 years. I could potentially see the Blade Runner series getting streamed on HBO Max before the Toonami broadcast but it will more likely be the other way around. I'm less concerned that Uzumaki will end up on Max first but both probably will be on Max under the CR or Adult Swim library eventually. Samurai Jack as well as Primal will both be in the Adult Swim library on HBO Max and chances are FLCL 2/3 will be either under Adult Swim or CR on HBO Max as well.

For now it seems like HBO Max intends to take already streaming shows away from Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, etc while introducing new content and offering other niche content that doesn't stand much of a chance on TV. It's one half the Netflix killer beside Disney+. The streaming wars certainly look to be interesting so far.

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Prime Video at this point is just a bonus for people who want free shipping on Amazon stuff.  And I admittedly expect Apple TV to throw their lot in with another company for a 1-2, because they can’t succeed on their own.

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Oh right and that doesn't even count FunimationNOW, HiDive, or Crunchyroll. I'm not counting VRV because it has been showing signs that it's on its way out in a few years. You can catch some of their shows on other services, but they're scattered around, and often you won't be able to see the dubs elsewhere. All these anime services on top of the upcoming competing new services is an added problem only anime fans have. It will be interesting to see how many people will drop these three services in the coming years.

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