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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Bologna 2015: The ABCs of Children’s Apps

Before the opening of the Bologna Children's Book Fair, app creators and developers gathered to discuss the digital children's market, including pricing and pitfalls. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-03-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #book fair #bologna children


Facebook to Help Mobile Apps Auction Off Their Ads Using Facebook Data

For years Facebook has considered itself a mobile-first company, so it's perhaps not surprising that the company's first attempt to automate the sale of ads running outside of Facebook will be limited to mobile.Mobile app publishers can now sell their in-app display and video ad inventory... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2015-03-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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B&N Execs Tout Promise of Retail-Digital Combination

When the spin-off of its college division is completed later this year, Barnes & Noble plans to sell both print and digital books, B&N Inc. CEO Mike Huseby told analysts during a conference call last week to discuss third-quarter results. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-03-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New Anonymous-Sharing App Wants to Apply the Netflix Algorithm to Content

With so much content being produced online, it's hard to stand out as a digital publisher to your target crowd. Heard, a new anonymous social sharing app, believes it has solved the discovery problem. The platform applies the Netflix algorithm for films and TV shows to online content, ideally... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2015-03-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Veteran TV Exec Rich Battista Poised to Become People Magazine President

Time Inc., the nation's largest magazine publisher, is close to naming former TV executive Rich Battista to lead the company's largest brand, People magazine, as well as its sibling publication Entertainment Weekly, according to two people familiar with the matter.The position -- president of... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2015-03-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Best Windows apps this week

One-hundred and twenty one in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps and games released for Windows in the past seven days. If you are interested in the development of Windows 10, you may be interested in screenshot leaks of build 10031 and build 10022 which allow you to... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2015-03-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #improved features


Wattpad launches After Dark app

Online writing site Wattpad is launching a free app that offers romance writing for adults, called After Dark. After Dark gives readers access to thousands of romance stories written by published authors and popular Wattpad writers. It contains content-specific channels such as LGBTQ, Urban,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Wattpad Delivers Erotic Romance via New App

Wattpad, the online reading and writing community, has released After Dark, an app that offers its users a curated selection of romance and erotica. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Teen novelists: the perils and positives of publishing early

Helena Coggan is only 15, and yet her debut novel has all the assurance of a writer in mid-stride. If young writers can overcome the stare of the blank page – and take care with characterisation – they can stand as an inspiration to allHelena Coggan’s debut, The Catalyst, is an accomplished... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Panel Mania: A First Look at Superman’s Early Years

Here's an exclusive preview of the new Superman series, out next week. It's the latest in DC's line of new-reader friendly Earth One graphic novels. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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iPhone, Mac and App sales fuel Apple profits

Apple has recorded a quarterly net profit of £18bn for its first fiscal quarter, said to be the biggest ever for a public company. The company’s results, for the quarter ending 27th December 2014, also showed quarterly revenue of £74.6bn, up 29% from $57.6bn in the same period the year... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #app store #net profit #fiscal quarter #public company


Children's app market set for schism

Single-app products will struggle to survive in children’s publishing in 2015 and the industry should shift its focus to online communities and cross-platform content, digital experts in the trade have warned. Sara O’Connor, digital fiction director at Hot Key Books, said many apps will “die... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple raises minimum app prices

Apple has raised its minimum app prices in the UK, Canada and European countries that use the Euro.  Gigaom reports that the minimum app price is now £0.79 in the U.K, €0.99 in the EU, and $1.19 in Canada. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #european countries


Hearst Plans New Print Magazine for Early 2016

Hearst Magazines, publisher of glossy titles like Cosmopolitan and Good Housekeeping, is planning to introduce a new print magazine in early 2016, according to David Carey, the company's president."We're in conversations now with possible joint-venture partners," said Mr. Carey in a memo to... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2015-01-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #good life #print titles #print launch #good housekeeping


Publishing Sales Execs Consider the Future of Book Pricing

A trio of international publishing sales executives reflect on the different attitudes toward book pricing across the world, wondering what the future holds. The post Publishing Sales Execs Consider the Future of Book Pricing appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-12-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Can an Oil-and-Gas Exec Disrupt the Book Business?

Bangkok-based Gordon Ross says disrupting the book industry is a business challenge, and has launched Bleeding Heart Publications to test his instincts. The post Can an Oil-and-Gas Exec Disrupt the Book Business? appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kindle app update adds X-ray, push notifications, better audiobook controls

The Kindle’s X-Ray feature is an excellent differentiator from other eReader apps. It’s like a specialized Wikipedia for each Kindle book, curating details about characters, locations, history, and many other facets of both fiction and non-fiction texts. The X-Ray feature is finally available in... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2014-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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YouTube star takes online break as she admits novel was ‘not written alone’

Bear with me, video blogger Zoella asks fans, as she takes break from internet after admitting that runaway bestselling debut Girl Online was written jointlyYouTube star Zoe Sugg has announced that she is taking a break from the internet after admitting that she did not write her bestselling... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-12-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Zoella admits Girl Online ghost-writing

Her debut novel, Girl Online, was written with the "help" of her publisher, Penguin, admits Zoella. Continue reading at BBC World

[ BBC World | 2014-12-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Slicebooks Debuts Customizable Storefront App

Founded in 2011 by Jill and Ron Tomich, Denver-based Slicebooks is a digital publishing platform that gives publishers the ability to “slice” their titles into smaller chunks and sell them by chapter. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-12-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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