###Background Max is a video streaming platform owned by Warner Brothers Discovery corporation. It has undergone a few different iteration to get to this point. It used to be known as HBOMAX and before that it was known as HBO GO, there was also the HBONOW variation. It now houses content from Warner Media, HBO and Discovery.

Max Homepage
Max Homepage

##Target Users For a very long time HBO has sought to differentiate itself from regular tv. With Ad campaigns like “It’s not TV it’s HBO”. Their staple has always been highbrow television programming. Their target users have historically been college educated viewers. However wih the transition from HBO MAX to MAX, they have decided they would like their content to have a wider target bae. One of the stated reasons for changing the name to MAX Is to attract more people than the regular HBO viewer.

##Key GOals I believe their key goals are to make sure users are spending time inside the platform watching their programming. If you are on the ad supported tier, they would like to make sure you are watching as many ads as possible as this helps them sell their ad spaces to more marketers at better rates. Another goal they have is to minimize subscriber turnover. Reducing the rate that people cancel their subscriptions is very important for the company to meet its financial targets and thing s of that nature

##How can they Accomplish these goals One of the ways they can accomplish this is by making sure their programming is available to a wide range of viewers. A streaming service is only as good as the things available for people to watch. They need to make sure they are also structuring their programming in a manner where there are things for people to watch over the course of the year so they are not just subscribing once and unsubscribing when the show they like is over. They need to make sure they also have a large library of different forms of content for people to chose from when they want to watch.

##Reverse ENgineering Their recomendation system WHile all streaming services have their own recommendation systems, I belive they are all generally looking at the same data from users, what they watch, how much time they spend inside the platfrom, how much time they spend browsing, the time of day they watch, the type of programs they are drawn to and things of that nature. In 2021 the company that runs Max(then known as HBO MAX) mentioned that they used human recommender as well. They believed these “tastemakers” set them apart from other streaming services and provided their user with a human touch and help them navigate the sea of content available to them on the platform.

##How can the system be better

They can try to better understand peoples behaviors and offer them content that will help keep them on the platform. They can try to create programming that appeals to new generations of viewers. This way they can recommend things to keep their viewers interested. ##Citations https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/why-did-hbo-max-become-max-rebranding-1235626295/ https://help.netflix.com/en/node/100639 https://www.theverge.com/21268972/hbo-max-design-recommendation-human-curation-friends-kids-profiles