The Death of DC Universe
So DC Universe announced that it's undergoing a transformation. This is what corporations say when they cut back, and boy, are they cutting back.
Some backstory. DC Universe didn't turn into the powerhouse streaming service they were hoping for. (Well, yeah--they barely had anything on there, and new content was spread way, way thin.) Yeah, they supplemented it with e-comics, but they didn't have =everything= in DC's library available, and it wasn't really enough to bring in the subscribers.
Meanwhile, HBO-Max, another streaming service, has also been struggling. Even after teaming up with Hulu, they're barely staying aloft. This is why Warner has decided to stream movies to HBO-Max on the same day they arrive in theaters--they're desperate for subscribers.
Warner, the parent company for both HBO-Max and DCU, decided to fold them together. All the video content from DC Universe will migrate over to HBO-Max. DC Universe will be renamed DC Infinity, and turn into a comic book subscription and reading platform.
Why do I bring this up? Because I signed up for an annual subscription to DC Universe last year. I got it because the videos are great to watch while I'm on the treadmill, and I like super-hero shows. It auto-renewed for me in late October: $80. Now, not even two months into my subscription year, the videos have vanished. I got no notification, no email, no contact. Instead, I got a blank screen when I tried to call it up on my Roku.
I went to the web site, and the trumpets sounded and the overly-cheery announcements about the "transformation." There was nothing about how to cancel a subscription or get a refund. Which tells me they aren't as enthusiastic as they appear--companies that figure you'll love the new service don't hide this information.
After considerable hunting, I found a place to contact customer service and demand a refund. A few minutes later, I got an email that said, since I had paid for the subscription through iTunes, I had to take it up with them. More hunting ensued. I finally found a link at Apple to manage and cancel a subscription, but there was no option to demand a refund--you could cancel and "Your stuff will be available until December 2021."
Now I was getting pissed off. Some more hunting finally found a deeply-buried page to demand a refund, but you have to explain, in careful detail, why you deserve one from the almighty. I put in a polite, hint-of-legal-menace request. This was followed with an automated "we'll review your claim within 48 hours" promise from Apple.
We'll see what happens.
I doubt DC Infinity will survive. Without video streaming, they'll seriously tank, unless they sharply reduce their subscription rates. I don't feel much sympathy for them. With Warner Communication standing behind them, they should be an entertainment powerhouse. But they blew it. Let 'em fry.
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Some backstory. DC Universe didn't turn into the powerhouse streaming service they were hoping for. (Well, yeah--they barely had anything on there, and new content was spread way, way thin.) Yeah, they supplemented it with e-comics, but they didn't have =everything= in DC's library available, and it wasn't really enough to bring in the subscribers.
Meanwhile, HBO-Max, another streaming service, has also been struggling. Even after teaming up with Hulu, they're barely staying aloft. This is why Warner has decided to stream movies to HBO-Max on the same day they arrive in theaters--they're desperate for subscribers.
Warner, the parent company for both HBO-Max and DCU, decided to fold them together. All the video content from DC Universe will migrate over to HBO-Max. DC Universe will be renamed DC Infinity, and turn into a comic book subscription and reading platform.
Why do I bring this up? Because I signed up for an annual subscription to DC Universe last year. I got it because the videos are great to watch while I'm on the treadmill, and I like super-hero shows. It auto-renewed for me in late October: $80. Now, not even two months into my subscription year, the videos have vanished. I got no notification, no email, no contact. Instead, I got a blank screen when I tried to call it up on my Roku.
I went to the web site, and the trumpets sounded and the overly-cheery announcements about the "transformation." There was nothing about how to cancel a subscription or get a refund. Which tells me they aren't as enthusiastic as they appear--companies that figure you'll love the new service don't hide this information.
After considerable hunting, I found a place to contact customer service and demand a refund. A few minutes later, I got an email that said, since I had paid for the subscription through iTunes, I had to take it up with them. More hunting ensued. I finally found a link at Apple to manage and cancel a subscription, but there was no option to demand a refund--you could cancel and "Your stuff will be available until December 2021."
Now I was getting pissed off. Some more hunting finally found a deeply-buried page to demand a refund, but you have to explain, in careful detail, why you deserve one from the almighty. I put in a polite, hint-of-legal-menace request. This was followed with an automated "we'll review your claim within 48 hours" promise from Apple.
We'll see what happens.
I doubt DC Infinity will survive. Without video streaming, they'll seriously tank, unless they sharply reduce their subscription rates. I don't feel much sympathy for them. With Warner Communication standing behind them, they should be an entertainment powerhouse. But they blew it. Let 'em fry.
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