Max Touts User Interface Updates, Including Live Event DVR to Allow for Rewinding of Sports, More on Select Devices
A Max spokesperson says the streamer has seen an 8.5% improvement in average time spent between customers logging on and starting to watch.
Max has the same challenge that all streaming providers these days are grappling with, user interfaces that don’t always help viewers find something new to watch. A recent survey found that more than half of customers say recommended tile rows don’t show them titles they actually want to see, and platforms that can’t snag a customer’s attention quickly risk losing that user’s viewing time to another streamer. To that end, Max has rolled out improvements to its user interface in recent months to aid customers in finding new content, and it reports that those updates have yielded success in content discovery.
- Max says over the past six months, time spent between logging in and starting a title among customers has fallen by 8.5%.
- An in-app sports schedule has helped viewers find their next sporting event, particularly during the 2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
- Viewers on Chromecast and web devices can now rewind during live sports and news events on Max.
Max’s new in-app sports schedule shows viewers all the games they can find on the streamer on a given day.
As the dust settles from Max’s coverage of the 2024 NCAA Men’s March Madness Tournament — which consisted of simulcasts of Warner Bros. Discovery’s linear channels TBS, TNT, and truTV — it is taking stock of its platform and sharing how innovations brought to the streamer for the tournament have helped subscribers find content.
The service’s new in-app sports schedule will help viewers find all sports events coming to Max in a given day with the click of a button, helping viewers more easily determine when to see their favorite team’s NBA or NHL playoff game. Fans can even use filters to more quickly narrow the list of live events in a day to see exactly the game they’re looking for.
Max has also updated its UI to include live event DVR on Chromecast and web devices. Max users watching live events will now have control over the scrubbing bar to rewatch any major moments and relive the action while streaming on the web and Android mobile devices via Chromecast. This will allow customers watching live sports on Max’s Bleacher Report add-on or news on its CNN Max hub to rewind during playback if they miss a critical moment and watch it again on their own terms.
On the entertainment side, viewers will note that the show and movie detail pages on Max now feature a “Share” button. Adult profile owners can click this button to share a link to a series or film on social media, letting their friends know about a new favorite. A recent study from TiVo reveals that word-of-mouth from friends is the top way audiences find a new title to stream, so this will be a big help to Max’s efforts at improving content discovery.
The streamer is already on the right track in that regard. A Max spokesperson told The Streamable that the platform has reduced the time between a viewer logging into their account and picking a title to start streaming by 8.5% in the past six months. Updates like the live sports schedule and the new social “Share” button will only help Max guide viewers to new content more quickly, as well.
What Other Updates Have Come to Max Recently?
Max has given its ad-supported customers more choices lately, with an interactive midroll ad that lets viewers choose their own ad experience with the click of a button while watching a chosen show or movie. New dynamic ad insertion abilities let Max insert digital ads in place of linear ad breaks while viewers watch live news on CNN Max, giving audiences ads that are more relevant to them.
In a key update for photosensitive viewers, new Max titles will be subjected to an automated automated photosensitive epilepsy test (PSE). Any shows or movies that fail this test will incorporate a special warning to viewers, which will be located on the top right of the screen after the ratings information about that title fades.
In late February, Max announced that it would become the first streaming service to allow customers to watch live sports in Dolby Vision. This viewing option allows for brighter colors, sharper contrasts, and deep, rich detail when watching, and it’s available with sports events in the Bleacher Report add-on for customers with compatible devices.
Max is continuously trying to tweak its user experience to make itself a more indispensable streamer for its viewers. Its latest updates could help it improve content discovery even more for customers, and the addition of live event DVR will be crucial for sports and news viewers on the service as it covers events like the NBA and NHL playoffs and the upcoming 2024 U.S. presidential election.
Max
Max is a subscription video streaming service that gives access to the full HBO library, along with exclusive Max Originals. There are hubs for content from TLC, HGTV, Food Network, Discovery, TCM, Cartoon Network, Travel Channel, ID, and more. Watch hit series like “The Last of Us,” “House of the Dragon,” “Succession,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and more. Thanks to the B/R Sports add-on, users can watch NBA, MLB, NHL, March Madness, and NASCAR events.