M+E Connections

New data from streaming aggregator Reelgood shows that the new streaming service Max will be providing subscribers with a catalog of titles that is deeper in several genres, larger and of a higher quality than the current HBO Max and Discovery Plus when it launches May 23 in the U.S.

Reelgood “thoroughly analyzed what Max’s catalog will look like, considering the size and quality of its content as measured by IMDb scores and the main genres that the new service will offer,” according to  Reelgood.

“As the merger of HBO Max and Discovery+ gives rise to Max, the new streaming service will offer a combined library of over 3k movies and 2.6k TV shows, with HBO Max contributing 86% of the movie catalog and Discovery+ contributing 75% of the TV show catalog,” Daniela Velasco, lead data analyst at Reelgood, said by email.

“With such an extensive and diverse mix of scripted and unscripted content, Max is set to become one of the largest streaming services in terms of catalog size and likely a more prominent player in the streaming landscape, catering to a wide range of viewer preferences,” Velasco added.

The new platform will be expanding the content catalog “extensively” from what has been offered by HBO Max and Discovery Plus, Reelgood said in an April 21 blog post.

For starters, Max is expected to be more family-friendly than Discovery Plus and HBO Max.

When it comes to catalog size, as of April 12, Max was to include 2,535 HBO Max movies and 405 Discovery Plus movies for a total of 2,940 movies, along with 615 HBO Max TV shows and 1, 938 Discovery Plus TV shows for a total of 2,595 TV shows, according to Reelgood.

There was an overlap of 42 TV shows, Reelgood noted.

Shifting to quality, Reelgood said a total of 263 Max TV shows are classified as “high quality” because they’re rated at 8.0 or higher on IMdB, with 300-plus votes, while 454 Max TV shows are classified as “quality,” rated at 6. 5 or higher. That compared to just 172 high quality and 25 quality TV shows on HBO Max.

Max will continue to offer HBO Max’s back catalog, including its “prestige” original content, along with Discovery Plus reality TV content, according to Reelgood.

So what does that translate to in a nutshell? Subscribers will continue to have access to everything from The Sopranos and Sex and the City to Barry and True Detective when it comes to HBO shows, Reelgood said in the blog post.

But those programs will also “live side by side with Friends and The Big Bang Theory,” according to Reelgood.

The new platform will also feature every DC comic film and TV series, along with the entire Harry Potter saga from Warner.

Subscribers will also gain access to reality programs Fixer Upper, 90 Day Fiance and more from Discovery’s Animal Planet, Food Network and other networks.