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u/Bulky_Specialist9645 15h ago
Fun fact: the bulk of Paramount Plus 'subscribers' are actually bulk subscriptions from companies giving it away for free. Walmart plus includes free Paramount Plus, T mobile gives it away etc.
A large percentage of these people with free plans don't even watch it.
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u/kelsey_schmelsey 15h ago
This is me exactly LOL
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u/Blossom_Soull 15h ago
HBO Max was already expensive and now they’re giving us the name to match the bill.
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u/No_Barracuda_3758 14h ago
I pay 2.99 for hbo
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u/Popular-Brilliant349 10h ago
How?
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u/No_Barracuda_3758 7h ago
In December they all have sales. Last year they had a 12 month sale. I also got a year of stars for 12$ and the others I just rotate when they have a sale. I do have prime though
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u/brooklynlad 10h ago
Same. I just use it for the free credit card points and cancel before the free subscription period ends.
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u/Dismal-Vanilla1878 9h ago
Huh, I have T-mobile, and didn't know that.
That being said, there's nothing on P+ I really want to see, even for free.
If HBOMax is going to go up in price because of this merger, then I guess I'll drop it soon.
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u/Powerful-Substance33 15h ago
I watch it when ever there is a new movie released on it besides that my kids watch nickelodeon on it.
They just need more regular content drops and it wouldnt be a bad service. I like how they do there ads aswell. A few ads and you can watch the entrie movie without ads.
Disney and Hulu run 1.30 minute adds every like 20 minutes its ridiculous.
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u/RhetoricalOrator 8h ago
I'm getting at least five commercial breaks in a 42 minute show, usually for 2:30. I don't mind the length all that much. I have been made accustomed to 18 minutes of ads per "hour" of programming.
What I hate is that in that one hour, they only show like two ads over and over. I don't know what Jardiance does, but I swear I have seen so many ads for it that if I end up with whatever it helps or cures, I'm just gonna die out of spite instead.
Give us some variety! Where's the shampoo commercials? What are the Keebler elves up to? Got any cool Ninja Turtles or Transformer playsets to show me? Hell, I'll even take feminine pad ads with red liquid instead of blue but for all that's holy, please mix it up a bit!
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u/AuntCatLady 11h ago
I have it through Walmart. Occasionally I remember it exists and watch some Star Trek, but almost everything else on there sucks lol.
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u/edsavage404 13h ago
Thats me with Peacock lol, I got it for free with my internet but never watch it
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u/Suspicious_synth 14h ago
Is the only way I pay for streaming. I get Paramount from Walmart Plus for free and HBO Netflix for 5 bucks with commercials. Disney Hulu combo from Verizon for 5 with commercials. If I can just find some way to get apple TV with commercials on the cheap I'd be set.
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u/mutt_742 13h ago
You can get all of these for free and with no drm limiting playback quality by simply learning how to operate a torrent client
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u/Suspicious_synth 13h ago
Where would I school myself on this? I'm interested.
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u/mutt_742 6h ago
Do not overcomplicate things install qbittorrent, ublock (origin for firefox or lite for every other browser) vpn if you live in a country that penalizes these sort of things.
Look for a torrent site on r/piracy. All you really need is a "dht indexer". Search engine for torrents basically.
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u/Ok_Dust_3896 12h ago
I didn't know you could torrent HBO max or Netflix. Is this something new?
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u/mutt_742 10h ago
Web-dl are a thing for pretty long time and are usually available within few hours after episode, movie release
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u/Dr-McLuvin 14h ago
Stop paying for shit with commercials.
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u/Suspicious_synth 13h ago
PaY mOrE mOnEy FoR nO rEaSoN... why? If I paid for the premium of all these services I'm looking at $100 a month right now I pay 10.
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u/yoitsdank9523 33m ago
Cricket gives me max for free, Walmart+ gives me paramount....I don't watch either of them hah.
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u/peachesgp 14h ago
My son (8) paid for a year of Paramount+ from his money to watch Nickelodeon shows.
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u/Hellcat_Mary 13h ago
Yo, introduce him to DVDs for chrissake
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u/peachesgp 13h ago
DVDs that I don't own of several entire Nickelodeon series?
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u/Hellcat_Mary 12h ago edited 12h ago
Why not? They can't lose a distribution contract or not like something an actor says and take it away. Also, I'd say only about a third of it is worth watching, much less owning. Also also, I feel like a sense of ownership and responsibility is good for kids. Just an idea, I feel like if you're already letting him use his own resources to pay for something, you could teach him about informed decisions.
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u/Hellcat_Mary 13h ago edited 13h ago
I actually used it often. I got it free with WalMart+, then I cancelled that (the last few years got me canceling a lot of shit) but somehow they didn't cut my Paramount for like a year.
I've run back to torrenting's arms like I'm 19 and it's 2007 again. Baby, I'm sorry I ever left, I was a fool, but I think we've both done some self improving and can really make it work this time.
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u/CopperBlanket95 15h ago
The streaming wars really came full circle just to recreate cable television with extra steps and a worse bill.
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u/NextGenRoyalty 14h ago edited 14h ago
fr... they are just finalising the steps of complete monopoly!
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u/Grelueen 13h ago
If I’ve got this right, the streaming landscape is basically:
- Netflix: the original streaming giant.
- Prime Video: Amazon using its massive ecosystem and resources to get into streaming.
- Apple TV: Apple expanding its ecosystem and giving customers another reason to stay within it.
- Disney: Disney leveraging its huge library and IP to build its own streaming platform.
- HBO Max + Paramount: legacy media companies backed by wealthy owners trying to maintain influence and control over their media businesses.
- Crunchyroll: Sony's global anime platform.
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u/SirStocksAlott 12h ago
Amazon owns: Prime Video, MGM+, Twitch, (killed off Freevee)
Disney owns: Disney+, Hulu, ESPN streaming
Comcast owns: Peacock
Fox owns: Tubi, FOX One, FOX Nation, B1G+
AMC owns: AMC+, Acorn TV, Shudder, Sundance Now, ALLBLK5
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u/greengiantme 14h ago
Tbf though, HBO has always had this model, even when it wasn’t streaming. They have moved the least, though rebranded the most.
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u/angrymoderate09 14h ago
I remember NPR talking about this 15+ years ago. It was just going to end up costing more :/
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15h ago
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u/SoulTechnicalProblem 15h ago
You keep paying like a good little wagie in your cagie
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u/cpdx82 15h ago
Jsut like the Hulu and Disney merger, I'm still paying for both even though they're all on one idiot platform.
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u/FraiseMiiel 15h ago
We reinvented cable TV and cheered
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u/HermanThaGerman 14h ago
Especially with them dumping ads on paying customers.
I've gone back to sailing the high seas.
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u/-The_Goober 14h ago
$8 is expensive for you Huh?
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u/SoulTechnicalProblem 14h ago
"Oh it's just x dollars" is a sentiment I've seen practice leave people broke. Dismissing the cumulative effects of multiple smaller purchases to the total income expenses curve is foolish.
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u/-The_Goober 14h ago
That lack of responsibility and accountability is on them.
I pay $38 for my services. I have all the big ones. I can keep track of my shit. I keep a register. Do you not personally keep a register and compare it to your online register?
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u/SoulTechnicalProblem 14h ago
I'm risk averse and a person who only functions when acting in extremes.
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u/heisenbergerwcheese 15h ago
What if you have subscriptions to neither?!?
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15h ago
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u/mammalmaker 14h ago
You take a look in the mirror and ask yourself why you need to support these companies.
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u/Playgirl_USMC 15h ago
There’s only going to be 6 companies in the US by the time my toddler is an adult
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u/MouseMouseM 14h ago
I was floored by the chart in my first semester business class that had something like 10 corporations owning a massive amount of brands. Two years later, 2008 happened. In 20 years time, every company I ever wanted to work for or was excited by has turned into a husk. And barrier to entry is too high for me to start one myself. I’m so sad for adults now, mad for young adults starting out, and fearful for young kids.
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u/LowsPeak 15h ago
Why pay? 🤨
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u/brockol-ii 15h ago
so that you can support the most evil man in america of course! yay larry ellison!
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u/No_Location_8199 15h ago
I personally mooch off of my parents' accounts.
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u/Sensitive_File6582 14h ago
My brothers. Fuck elison what you hear about him isn’t the worst he does.
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u/sackfull420 15h ago
Its sad how when these huge companies merge everyone knows it will do nothing but hurt the consumer and it just happens anyways over and over.
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u/EconomyDoctor3287 15h ago
Now please merge with Netflix, Amazon Video & Disney +, so i don't need half a dozen subscriptions to watch anything.
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u/AlbatrossNo1562 15h ago
Then throw in forced ads and more reality shows instead of movies and viola, we're back to cable
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u/Kriztauf 11h ago
Basically just returning to when Netflix had everything in 2013 except now it'll be 10x as expensive
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u/HTD-Vintage 14h ago
This was never "just in" though. All signs point to the two services being offered as a bundle for people who want both; not merged into a single platform.
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u/doctor-paradoxx 11h ago
Modern business is full of rug pull and pump and dump case studies. No one is creating anything new.
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u/Dilusions 15h ago
I still have my grandfathered AT@T acct that gives free hbo max —- this. Better continue to be free
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u/kot-sie-stresuje 14h ago edited 12h ago
If you paying two subscriptions now, then in future it will be times two for today cost of two subscriptions. Alternative, pay no subscription now and don't do it in future either.
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u/OliverKlozoff23 15h ago
They also said Hulu, Disney plus and espn are merging and has yet to happen. Would be nice just to have one app and one subscription but I use my plex server so not really worried.
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14h ago
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u/Conscious_Archer2658 14h ago
They're also going to maxamount their available libraries, right? ...... Right?
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u/Dr_Sigmund_Fried 13h ago
Maxamount the returns to shareholders and minamount what subscribers receive for their money.
It's a story as old as time and typically the same action that occurs before a company turns to shit.
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u/No-File4178 13h ago edited 13h ago
Then they all merge to one final slogan: “AppleCockTube. Ama Net Dis Max Amount. “
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u/HyperBeamMissed 12h ago
Paramount feels like a pretty platform for Taylor Sheridan's conservative agenda. Every show NEEDS a monologue that glorifies their moves or discredits opposition.
Oil over electric energy, justifying taking Venezuela, effectively using flock cameras, showing the border as a roller coaster queue to enter the US, etc.
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u/KathyJaneway 12h ago
Will Sky showtime merge with HBO Max? Cause I get HBO Max for free and trade internet from my vault tomgrt sky showtime for free. I'd be happy if they merge and wouldn't need to trade internet for the other lol 😆
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u/Effective-Point-3349 9h ago
Didn't HBO and Cinemax just merge already? Not sure how lack of choices makes things better. 😒
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u/N3M3S1S75 9h ago
By merging two streaming services I don’t sub to you help me have one less sub to keep track of
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u/mikefrombarto 3h ago
Hopefully they just add Paramount’s content to the HBO Max app, because the Paramount+ app is hot garbage, and always has been since the CBS All Access days.
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u/SheriffBartholomew 3h ago
Guess what, guys! You don't have to subscribe to overpriced bullshit. Wild I know, but you can totally not pay for things that you think are overpriced!
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u/Kyle-Dragon 2h ago
The question is
Will it be available worldwide?
Since here in The Philippines it doesn't have Paramount+
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u/Three3Jane 2h ago
Great, more bullshit to wade through.
I'm over here annoyed that FIOS is complaining about Starz being uNrEaSoNaBLe so there are no Starz channels available in the FIOS TV lineup.
Not like I'm going to get any kind of credit for not being able to utilize Starz even though I pay for it, amirite, amirite?
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u/TortyPapa 2h ago
Ahh HBO management is such a sh*tshow. Spent over a hundred million with a consulting firm specifically to map out dropping "HBO" to become "Max" (in 2023) and subsequently walking back that decision to return to "HBO Max" (in 2025).
Why in the world would you ever drop a household name like HBO and adopt something so vague and generic that no one knows about? Just utter disaster.
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u/Ok_Brother685 15h ago
Average media conglomerates combining forces to bleed our wallets dry while calling it an "innovation".
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u/malfarcar 14h ago
I only get paramount for a month once the new South Park season finishes. HBO max is a joke
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u/Mega_Trix 10h ago
Thats fine I pirate everything now since streaming services have raised their prices %200 in less than 5 years
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u/Ok-Gur-349 15h ago
If they're actually merging catalogs under one price I may actually sign back up. I had cancelled HBO but if it's HBO with access to the CBS and comedy central catalogs, it's a lot more appealing.
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u/doctor-paradoxx 11h ago
Eventually everything will merger and people will end up paying 10x of what we used to pay for cable tv.
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u/Inoutngone 10h ago
If that ends up meaning I can watch Paramount+ content without suffering their interface, it works for me. I cancelled P+ solely because I couldn't stand their app anymore.
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u/BigMack6911 9h ago
I just don't want Paramount getting more expensive for the Ufc. I just want the fights man
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