HBO Max exec admits to the app’s early flaws

Viewers have long complained about the early HBO Max app’s tendency to crash, and its lack of discoverability features. There have been a number of overhauls and fixes since then. Now we know why. Turns out that HBO Max launched its apps before they were ready in order to keep up with its competitors. The app was “never intended to go global” or to suit the needs of a direct-to-consumer market, according to an interview that Sarah Lyons, HBO Max’s head of product experience, gave Protocol. The network wanted to build an audience first, and then fix the app’s flaws as the service scaled up.While Lyons admits that the early days of HBO Max were rocky, she thinks the company made the right decision. We’ve been changing out the engine of the plane while we’re flying the plane,” she said. “I do think it was the right decision to try to balance both,” said Lyons.HBO Max first released its app in May 2020, to join an already saturated streaming ecosystem that included Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Apple TV+ and others. At the time, both HBO Go (the network’s on-demand app for cable subscribers) and HBO Now (the standalone app for cord-cutters) were still available, a fact that confused many subscribers. The network has since retired both apps.Viewers have flocked to Reddit since the app’s initial launch with complaints that spanned platforms and devices. “We’ve been trying to watch the Harry Potter movies and literally every 15 min or so we get an ERROR message and have to force close... Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2022-04-14 23:32:58 UTC ]
News tagged with: #apple tv+ #streaming platforms #home page #biggest change #harry potter

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Max Mosley-funded press regulator would be 'attack on free speech'

If Impress is recognised, publishers risk exposure to potentially huge legal costs even if acquitted, argue UK publishersNewspaper publishers have warned that if a would-be regulator funded by Max Mosley is formally recognised it would amount to “an attack on free speech” and expose the press to... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-10-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PRH staffer's early-years journal delivered to MOM

Penguin Random House Children’s publishing director Shannon Cullen has signed with Michael O’Mara to publish a journal for parents after a “very competitive” auction. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Comic books come to VR through an app

You may have felt immersed in a comic book before, but never quite so literally as this. Madefire has released a free Gear VR preview app that lets you read its Motion Books in virtual reality. As you might guess, it's all about depth. Pages now fill... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2016-10-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Don’t Get Sucked into Shopping: PW Talks with Max Lucado

The bestselling author is looking beyond the shopping lists at the promise of redemption he sees during Christmastime in his new book, 'Because of Bethlehem.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-10-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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DK launches audio walking tours app

DK is launching an audio app this month providing free walking tours of "two of the most visited cities in the world" - London and New York. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Serial Dilemma: Does ‘Belgravia’ Spell ‘Success’ in Book Apps?

As innovative as publishers may want to be, how do we evaluate market response to 'Julian Fellowes's Belgravia' with so few apps as apt comparisons? The post Serial Dilemma: Does ‘Belgravia’ Spell ‘Success’ in Book Apps? appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-10-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Movie studio Legendary is branching out with a subscription app

Movie studio Legendary Entertainment, which owns digital publishers Nerdist and Geek & Sundry, wants to be less reliant on advertising (up to 75 percent of the company’s digital revenues still comes from advertising). In November, Legendary will launch a $5-per-month streaming app for new... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2016-09-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In Early Pre-Frankfurt Deals, Two Novels Fetch Big Sums

Although the Frankfurt Book Fair doesn’t get underway until next month, a handful of big deals have already closed. Among the titles gaining early buzz in the run-up to the fair are two novels acquired in six figure deals late last week. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google Play Books App Adds Discover Feature

The new feature, intended to help users with book discovery, mines information from online book news, reviews and video content. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-09-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Here's What Top Industry Execs Think About the Future of Video

  brightcove.createExperiences(); With the goal of surfacing best-in-class thought leadership on the convergence of video and television, Adweek, along with sponsor and partner NCC Media, convened a half-day Video 2020 Executive Lab late last month in New York for media buyers and... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2016-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury launches children's bird app

Bloomsbury is launching 'First Birds', nature charity The RSPB's first app for children. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How CNN juggles different mobile chat apps to cover the Olympics

With mobile messaging app use exploding, publishers are all trying to figure out how to share their content with those apps' users. CNN, after launching an automated chatbot app on Kik and Facebook Messenger, is giving users an interactive, on-the-ground look at big events like the Republican... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2016-08-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Brief History of Time app from Transworld

Transworld is launching an interactive app for Professor Stephen Hawking’s 1988 book A Brief History of Time, including new updates from its author. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Former Dalmatian Execs Launch Dreamtivity Imprint

Two former Dalmatian Press and Bendon Publishing executives, have started a new publishing company and a new children’s imprint. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Thirty-year-old flaws led to Blackpool Waterstones death

The falling sign which killed Waterstones bookseller Margaret Sheridan in Blackpool last year was the result of a flaw dating back 30 years, according to local newspaper the Blackpool Gazette.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Buster Books launches second colouring app for children

Buster Books, the children’s imprint of Michael O’Mara Books, has launched a free colouring app. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook Is Launching New App-Install Ads to Help Developers Find Audiences

Facebook has updated its app-install ads to allow developers to select targeted audiences based on which users will most likely use an app and not just install and forget about it. The product, App Event Optimization, will allow advertisers to select from among 14 user actions that might... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2016-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How A Groton Geek Won The Education App Sweepstakes

Using Apple technology, one small publisher figured out how to compete with the big boys who dominate the market for high school texts.At 3:59 p.m. on Tuesday, July 12, John Conner was fidgeting at his kitchen table. He looked down at his iPhone, then up to the hands of the kitchen clock, then... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2016-07-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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What you need to know about messaging app Line in 6 charts

Japan’s popular messaging app Line has gone public. Mainly used in Asia, the funds raised will help with international expansion. Currently, 12 percent of people in the U.S. use Line, and it’s unlikely to ever reach the scale of Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp. It can differentiate by the range... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2016-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Domino Poaches Refinery29 Exec Nathan Coyle to Be CEO

Domino, which began in the mid-aughts as a home dcor magazine from Cond Nast and closed at the end of the decade and returned in 2013, is still in the process of reinventing itself as a blend of e-commerce, old-fashioned print, and digital media.On Monday, Domino announced the appointment of... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2016-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #general manager #exec vp #digital strategy #move forward