Should I add Hulu or hboMAX to my streaming services?

I am really enjoying Max right now and find it more valuable than Hulu. It includes great movies and a number of tv station media, such as HGTV and Food Network. I’ve been thinking about cancelling Hulu.

We’ve had both, I’d pick HBO.

Max>Hulu in terms of original content. Hulu>Max if you’re interested in old TV shows. Hulu has a few good shows but HBO wins the day for original content.

hbo/max is no longer. Max has gone off by itself. I have hbo/max/showtime/the movie channel that all came with HBO (I think…that’s all I pay for anyway) and they’ve let me keep max without an extra charge. I really like hbo. I’ve wanted to get hulu, but I’m not going to pay for both, so it’s easier to keep the one than to change. Plus my apartment complex pays for HBO and all it entails, Walmart+ gives me Paramount+, and my nephew has me on his ‘friends’ list on Netflix.

You might want to see what you would actually get with each for the $...like a spreadsheet. If I had nothing and wanted to choose, I’d likely choose HBO.

I have Hulu, I got it during a special for $2.99 a month. We have enjoyed it, but when the year is up we probably won’t renew and try something else. If you aren’t getting it at a special price, I would wait and get the HBO.

@smudges It’s my understanding that HBO is now Max but maybe I’m wrong? That’s why I putthe HBO in small letters.

I have both, I find that Max gets more movies, and has more variety of movies. I think you would like it better.

I vote for YouTube. It has everthing you could possibly want.

@janbb You know what? I just looked at the Cox website and you’re right. So if you get Max I guess you’ll get hbo too…? I think it’s kind of confusing, but if you look at this link, down at the bottom of the page it says “How to watch Max”. You may already know more about this than their explanation. Sorry for the incorrect info. I learned something! When it changed they didn’t explain well at all.

https://tinyurl.com/2khy7mfr

^^ It is a bit bizarre.

I think HBO was rebranded as “Max” so it’s just Max now. I still call it HBO and probably a lot of people do too.

I have Hulu and Max and I am considering dropping Hulu. I don’t watch it that much but i have to ask my daughter because she might like it. I have Hulu through DIsney+. It’s a one price thing for both Hulu and Disney+, and Disney+ comes with a bunch of other channels like FX and NatGeo.

@janbb This might explain things a little better:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2023/05/22/hbo-max-is-now-max-the-new-streaming-service-explained/70235353007/

I think it’s going to be a tough rebranding because it’s been HBO for as long as I can remember, since cable came out which was around the late 1970s when the cable box looked like a piano lol.

We have both, and I prefer Max. I now can’t remember why I wanted it. Ended up keeping it as I got into Ugly Betty. Have finished that and will probably drop Hulu when our special is up. Max has more variety of shows I want to watch.

PS: If you’re a Julia Child fan, Max has the show “Julia” which is the story of her life at the start of her public TV career. We have watched three episodes and love it so far.

It seems to be relatively unanimous for Max. Thanks all!

A further question, if you have the Max plan with ads, how often and intrusive are they?

@janbb I didn’t know there were two plans. I have Max through the cable company, and I don’t see ads on it, at least not in the middle of streaming shows I don’t. I’d be willing to pay less and get ads if it’s available here. I do find ads annoying, like on other streaming shows but I am looking to save money so I’ll tolerate it if I can.

I have Max/Disney+/Prime/Netflix.
I used to have Hulu, but barely watched it.
Sometimes I think it would be nice to have Peacock, but I already have too much.

^^ I have Peacock; got it just for one show. It’s only $5-something/month, but I’m not really impressed by it, and it has commercials! 3–4 in a row! I’m about to cancel.

I think about getting Peacock again, I had it during the beginning of covid. I want it for the Star Trek mostly, but I would assume there are other shows on there I would like to see if I had it.

@JLeslie I get all of the Star Trek variations on a channel called H&I (Heroes & Icons). The website is handitv.com. At their site it says “Where to Watch” at the top of the page. I typed in your zip code and it looks like you can get that channel through Orlando.

@JLeslie The Star Treks are on Paramount+, not Peacock.

@canidmajor Wow, thanks. I guess I mixed it up in my brain. I’m really glad I mentioned it, I might have bought the wrong service, I really thought I had that right. Good reminder for me to double check the shows available before signing up for something.

@smudges I’ll take a look. Thanks.

I use this app to search for stuff, it’s pretty comprehensive.
https://www.justwatch.com/

Imdb.com is also good for finding out “where to watch.”

@JLeslie If you have Walmart+ you should get Paramount+ free. I did. Walmart+ is only $98/year. Normally they charge $7.99 for delivery of your groceries. Quite a deal if you’d like a grocery delivery service.

@smudges That’s good to know! I don’t have Walmart+ but I shop and buy gas at Walmart all of the time so maybe I should consider it. I just joined BJ’s for the gas discount, but it’s just $20 annual on an introductory offer.

I only add other sites to my Amazon streaming when I know there are one or a few or several movies or shows I seriously intend to watch eventually. If I fail to watch and binge in two or three months I cancel.

I don’t mind paying a one month fee to have enough time to create a watchlist, if ever.

Please let us know what you decide!

@canidmajor it may be a while. The “mulling it over” stage has just begun.

Try it for a month. See which you like better. Cancel if you don’t

^^ Yup. But I’ll probably try one and then the other.

Free YouTube is amazing.

I was considering giving up Hulu and then I just found this great show, recommended by several people. It’s about a restaurant but it portrays the characters in the restaurant, the owner of the restaurant, their struggles, their family conflicts. It’s a comedy/drama, kind of like Ted Lasso.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bear_(TV_series)

@jca2 I’m watching Shatners ‘Stars on Mars’ on Hulu. Not great.