‘Don’t Stream on Max’: Why viewers are protesting Max and calling for David Zaslav to be fired

Around the same time Disney, Hulu, and Max announced yet another streaming bundle, “Don’t Stream on Max” trended on X – here’s what that hashtag means.

One might expect that consumers were fed up with streaming platform bundles that seem an awful lot like cable (and some were — remember when streaming was supposed to save us money?! ) but “Don’t Stream on Max” targeted the company for a list of other reasons.

“Don’t Stream on Max”: a four-point platform

When “Don’t Stream on Max” trended on social media on May 9, 2024, Orion.of.the.stars laid out their grievances in an infographic, captioned,

I #DontStreamOnMax cause they keep canceling diverse & queer shows like #OurFlagMeansDeath for no logical reason even though they outperformed many others. Their tendency to shelve already finished movies while paying ridiculous sums to their CEO doesn’t help their cause either.”

via Orion.of.the.stars

David Zaslav, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO, Max’s parent company, has seen some healthy pay bumps as of late, according to The Hollywood Reporter. At the same time, Max’s programming quality has slipped and Zaslav should be fired, in some subscribers’ view.

In the meantime, Orion.of.the.star’s statement and the information they shared were echoed by several other posts that day. Page Against the Machine wrote, ” … [B]ecause reality television and soulless IP isn’t the only kind of entertainment and we deserve so much better.”

The Our Flag Means Death cancelation left some fans especially salty

For many, the social media backlash against Max was focused on the cancelation of Taiki Waititi’s wildly popular gay pirate comedy, Our Flag Means Death, after its second season — a homophobic decision, some alleged.

Others mentioned the recent Max Turtles All the Way Down YA novel film adaptation, using a post from author John Green himself. In one post, Adopt Our Crew | #AdoptOurCrew wrote,

It’s absolutely baffling to us that Max and WBD are still refusing to promote their own content. It shouldn’t fall on creators and fans to run marketing and publicity campaigns and then be punished when ‘the numbers aren’t there.’ #DontStreamOnMax.”

via Adopt Our Crew | #AdoptOurCrew

Adopt Our Crew also shared a post from Green explaining that while the movie did well on the platform, a sponsor paid for the premiere, and Green paid for some publicity. In a comment, Lucille added, “It almost feels like they are sabotaging their own company. Maybe Zaslav is trying to get fired so he gets that big bonus?”

Not everyone piled on the platform, though. Responding to one “Don’t Stream on Max” post about layoffs compared to CEO David Zaslav’s salary, Clancy Kuykendall wrote, “You better quit buying anything from major companies then.” G Dub added, “[Y]’all do realize you’re contributing to the layoffs right by saying don’t spend your money on it there isn’t a need to have the workers there 🤦🏿‍♂️”