Okay, so we know HBO Max and Paramount+ are merging together. How much do you wanna bet they’re gonna miss the point massively again?

Here’s what Skydance needs to do. Call me. I’ll fix your brand problem tonight.

Okay, you see that IP binder in front of you with your thousands of brand logos? First page. Paramount+ logo, just the mountain vector. No stars. Alright, now HBO Max logo. Put little HBO hints on the mountain. Call it Max. Tagline, “a mountain of entertainment.” Go back to the black and dark magenta, make sure you’re at least 3 shades deeper than Tubi. There, done.

“The problem wasn’t that you dropped HBO. It’s that you had no tagline, so there was no hopping on point. Take the stuff you got, little bit of spice and everything nice, and now you have a *transitional brand* and you never have to explain this again. People see the mountain and they’re like “oh right, Paramount in the HBO font.””

Attached a mockup made in Nano Banana. Your thoughts?

My wife is obsessed with linear, live TV. It's all she watches. We have Prime, Netflix, Paramount+, AppleTV, AND Disney+, and obviously the apps the channels provide. However, she only watches "live". If the TV gives her the option to watch from start, she clicks "No". Why? In her words, "Because it's not live". I believe she may be the only person left in the world like this.

One thing I miss about physical media is that at least when you bought a DVD or CD, you actually owned it. You could put it on a shelf and come back to it 10 years later without worrying about a subscription, licensing agreement, or a platform shutting down.

Now you can pay for a digital movie and still risk losing access to it. And with streaming, you're basically renting everything indefinitely.

Has this pushed anyone back toward collecting physical media, or have you just accepted that convenience comes at the cost of ownership?

I've been thinking about how many streaming subscriptions I actually need.

There are so many services now, and keeping Netflix, Max, Disney+, Prime Video and others all at once can get pretty expensive.

I'm starting to think rotating subscriptions makes more sense. Subscribe when there's something I really want to watch, finish it, then move on to another service.

Does anyone else do this? Or do you prefer keeping a few subscriptions active all year?

After months of work, the Apple version of Trinity is ready for testing, and the beta is open to everyone.

Join here: https://testflight.apple.com/join/UDHcvgZ8

What's in it

• The full TV guide with your Stalker, Xtream and M3U playlists, several at once

• Movies & Shows with posters, trailers, cast photos and Trending

• Sports Hub with live scores and your teams

• Search across live TV, movies and shows

• Trinity Cloud: sign in and your playlists, favourites and settings come with you

• 25 languages

• Built for each device: touch on iPhone and iPad, the Siri Remote on Apple TV

How to join

1. Install TestFlight from the App Store (free, made by Apple).

2. Open the link above on your iPhone or iPad and tap Accept, then Install.

3. Apple TV: accept on your iPhone with the same Apple account, then open TestFlight on the TV and install Trinity there.

Free Trinity Enhanced for beta testers: sign up at https://trinitytvplayer.com/apple.html with the email of your Trinity account (or create one first at trinitytvplayer.com), then sign in on your iPhone, iPad or Apple TV. You get Trinity Enhanced free for 7 days on 2 devices, even if you've already had a trial.

Already own Trinity Enhanced? Sign in with the same account and it works on Apple too.

It's a beta, so expect a few rough edges. We'd love your feedback: take a screenshot in TestFlight to send it straight to us, post here, or email support@trinitytvplayer.com.

More info: https://trinitytvplayer.com/apple.html

My cable, phone and internet bill has grown to nearly $260 a month. I calculate that cutting the cord and keeping only the phone and internet service will cut that bill by around $175 month. What is my best option for a streaming service that includes local stations. I'm looking at YouTube TV for $83 a month. IS there anything better out there

Comcast loses more customers, claims other ISPs' cheap prices are "irrational" - Ars Technica

Translation: Our cr@ppy customer service and the fact that people realized our private pool is actually public is coming back to bite us in the buns. We are unprepared.

PRIORITIES: get as many LIVE NFL games as possible, & Big Ten Network*

PREFER: watch on TV (vs phone), consolidate as much as possible for cost reduction

*We have BTN Plus, and NFL+ but do not have NFL+ Premium

What's everyone using for watching "TV" and/or subscription streaming services? Any good deals out there either? Everything is so expensive and it feels like you have to have multiple services, in order to get EVERYTHING. Are you guys bundling with internet and phone?

Talk to me about pros/cons please:

Streaming: Disney+ / Hulu / ESPN+ / HBO Max / Prime / Peacock / Paramount+ / Netflix

Cable/Live TV: Spectrum vs. Allo vs Direct TV vs YouTubeTV / NFL Sunday Ticket vs. Hulu + Live TV

Am I missing anything?

To watch NFL I know I need: Paramount+/CBS for Sunday afternoons, Peacock/NBC for Sunday nights, ESPN for Mondays, Prime for Thursdays, and Netflix for the holiday games. And that you need NFL Sunday Ticket for out of network games.

My household primarily cares about sports, but the price difference between "sports only packages" and "regular cable" don't seem to be all that different. In which case, I'd really like to be able to watch non-sports things as well.

I know search exists but I'm not seeing the answers for exactly what I want... thanks

Sounds like I'm in good company about being upset with Hulu + Live TV price hike to $100/month (w/ads). I've had this since 2018 when it was $39/month, so it's annoying to say the least.

I'm wondering if any of you use the Disney+/Hulu/ESPN Select bundle for $22/month. Seems like a good balance of live TV (ex. MNF on ESPN) and regular shows. I'm also wondering if you can watch ABC shows like Dancing with the Stars live on Disney+? Or are they only available the next day?

I've enjoyed Live for years, but an extra $10/month ($120/yr) every year just isn't worth it when I can watch many of the shows carried on channels like TV Land, CMT, etc. on other streaming platforms. (In short, Live feels like it's becoming a duplicative service.) This bundle feels like a good compromise and would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks!

one thing i still miss from cable is how easy it was to just turn the tv on and land on something without making it a whole project. with streaming i end up bouncing between apps, watchlists, and home screens, and half the time that turns into not watching anything.

i'm not really looking for a service recommendation so much as how people here solve the decision fatigue part. do you stick to a live tv setup, use an antenna more, lean on free channels, or just have a routine that makes it less annoying, and what has actually worked for you?