Max: what is the new streaming platform worth? We tested the rival of Netflix and Prime Video

Finally ! Four years after its launch in the United States, the Max streaming platform has been available in France since Tuesday June 11. An SVOD service – officially the 4th in the world with 100 million subscribers – which is arriving on a hypercompetitive market in France.

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But its solid arguments — HBO, Harry Potter, Batman, sport… — will they be enough to convince? Should you subscribe to Max? Content, quality, ergonomics… The Digitals was able to test this new streaming platform, and here is our opinion.

As a reminder, Max is available via its official website, but also in Canal+ and Prime Video offers.

A less imposing catalog… but diversified

This is Max’s big argument: his catalog. It is true that with franchises Harry Potter,DC, Mad Max, Matrix, Godzilla and HBO (among others) in its portfolio, the service promises more quality than many of its competitors.

And Max is right to focus on quality rather than quantity, since the platform did not reach the 1000 program mark at its launch. In detail, there are therefore “only” 378 films and 608 series which are offered to subscribers. Far from the offer of Netflix (more than 7000 programs), Prime Video (more than 5000) and even Disney+ (more than 2000).

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Max makes up for this with great diversity. Between cult programs (The Big Bang Theory, The Sopranos, Game Of Thrones, The Dark Knight…), entertainment for adults (Rick & Morty, Primal, Adventure Time…), family content (Scooby-Doo, Looney Tunes, Peppa Pig…), classics (Casablanca, Death to the Kits), sport or even reality TV and documentaries, Max’s offering is undoubtedly one of the most eclectic on the market.

Note, access to linear (“live”) streaming, which allows you to watch dedicated channels (TLC, Discovery, TMC, Warner TV) for those who do not want to choose yes who prefer good old dad’s TV . In a word: everyone will find what they are looking for.

A simple interface…

With its large categories by universe and theme, Max offers an interface at the crossroads of Netflix and Disney+. Above all, it is far from the catastrophic ergonomics of Prime Video.

In addition to its reception, the service offers “series”, “films” and “sport” spaces. HBO is entitled to its own tab, accessible at the top of the screen.

On the other hand, the other universes (Harry PotterDC…) and channels (TLC, Discovery) are to be found yourself by scrolling, which is not the most practical.

The video player is simple, but effective: play, pause, move forward/backward 10 seconds, subtitles, sound. We may regret the absence of some options, such as the general view of the seasons and episodes of a series (available on Netflix).

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…but a search engine that leaves something to be desired

Max’s search system is also not very intuitive. There are many categories by genre and collections – “Welcome to Westeros”, “LGBTQ+ Voices”, “Made in France”… – but these are still few in number.

And woe to you if you want to do a detailed search, or want to find films by year, actor or director: results will certainly be displayed, but without further details. We are far from the extremely precise categorization of Netflix, notably by “mood” or duration.

An impressive sports offer

One of the big assets of the Max platform is its sports offering. And if the service is a little behind in terms of films and series, it must be admitted that it has a head start here.

Max offers via a dedicated tab to follow 48 different sports (from athletics to cycling to curling), to see live broadcasts of major tennis or motor sports competitions, or to rewatch key moments, in the same way of what France Télévisions’ excellent France.tv platform offers.

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Above all, the service will offer the entire Paris 2024 Olympic Games to all its subscribers at no additional cost, through 62 different channels and the expertise of its Eurosport channel. (Very) solid.

Extensive customization

Just like its competitors, Max will allow you to create up to five separate profiles on your account, ideal for families. Like Netflix and Disney+, you will have a varied choice of avatars (from Warner productions) and can adjust the characteristics of the child account (PIN code, classification, language).

It is also possible to personalize your viewing comfort, particularly subtitles, down to the smallest details: opacity, font, size, style or color of the text, background or window. For now, Max is doing much better than Netflix and company.

Verdict

We may be exhausted by the overabundance of streaming offers, but we must admit that Max has convinced us. The Warner Bros. group’s streaming platform. Discovery still lacks the fine classification and pleasant ergonomics of Netflix, but it has the merit of casting a wide net to please everyone.

And it works, since it benefits for the moment from all our curiosity, notably thanks to the quality and diversity of its catalog. With the arrival of season 2 of House of the Dragon next June 17, and future series The Penguin, Dune: Prophecy And Harry PotterMax could well succeed in conquering the French market.

The answer will undoubtedly come from the mass of new products that will join the catalog each month. Because we know, the streaming war is a marathon, and we will have to be generous to gain the trust of subscribers in the long term if Max wants to hope to prevail. Answer in a few months.