Holiday special on HBO Max

[MelissaD]

I think that international fans should be tweeting about this and tagging both Carrie and HBO Max in it. Say that it's extremely disheartening as a Carrie fan that lives outside of the U.S. and Canada that you're basically being told that your long-time following and support of her career is too insignificant for you to be given access to the special. This is exactly why it should have been aired on a platform that is more accessible to the public. Even many American fans were inconvenienced in this situation.

 

[maddkat]

the editor and the director

@ChrisAPeterson1
#MyGiftHBOMax was a blast to work on and you are right — @restcon
directed the hell out of this special!


@restcon
it was a blast and you did a great job too!! what a team we had!!

 

[Eder Rodrigues]

It's not the HBO special, they're just playing My Gift with some comments from Carrie between songs

 

[adam1995]

I think that international fans should be tweeting about this and tagging both Carrie and HBO Max in it. Say that it's extremely disheartening as a Carrie fan that lives outside of the U.S. and Canada that you're basically being told that your long-time following and support of her career is too insignificant for you to be given access to the special. This is exactly why it should have been aired on a platform that is more accessible to the public. Even many American fans were inconvenienced in this situation.

Seriously? You all want her to branch out, but then when she tries something new it's just not good enough. I don't have HBO Max, and I'm not doing a free trial, so I won't see it, but I'll adjust. Carrie has to make decisions that are right for her, and what she thinks is best, and that means she won't please anyone. You can be frustrated, but damn to act as if she is belittling fans is just wrong.

 

[Louisa]

From HBO.

My Gift: A Christmas Special from Carrie Underwood

TV-G | 5.1 | HD

To help spread a little extra joy this holiday season, country music superstar Carrie Underwood takes the stage to perform a combination of beloved traditional favorites and some exciting new tracks from her recently released, and first-ever, Christmas album. My Gift: A Christmas Special from Carrie Underwood finds the singer accompanied by a stunning choir, live orchestra, and some exciting guests – including fellow Grammy®-winner John Legend, her mom Carole, and son Isaiah – for a moving evening filled with music, hope, and holiday cheer. 2020 | 54 MIN

 

[akpnts]

I downloaded the HBO Max app on my phone via Google Play. I then used a gift card to register for the 7-day free trial (to avoid the possibility of getting charged on one of my personal cards, in the event of a mistake) and then just located HBO Max on my smart TV to enter in my account info, and I was granted immediate access. I watched and recorded the entire special, then proceeded to cancel the subscription. I still have free unlimited streaming until December 10th.

Could you share the file you recorded with us? <3

 

[MelissaD]

Seriously? You all want her to branch out, but then when she tries something new it's just not good enough. I don't have HBO Max, and I'm not doing a free trial, so I won't see it, but I'll adjust. Carrie has to make decisions that are right for her, and what she thinks is best, and that means she won't please anyone. You can be frustrated, but damn to act as if she is belittling fans is just wrong.

What's the purpose of "branching out" if you're going to severely restrict the public's access to your projects, though? Lol doesn't that kind of defeat the entire thing? and I wasn't encouraging her international fans to imply that she's "belittling" them, but rather just to express the fact that they do indeed exist and would also appreciate having access to her special. Talk about an overreaction lmaooo... You literally can't say anything at this place without certain people catching feelings over it. I was just trying to put myself in their shoes, and how I would be thinking if I were them. I already watched the entire special, so I'm not personally affected by this. My concern is simply for other fans that have also offered their long-time support and therefore deserve an equal opportunity to enjoy her projects. I'd think that Carrie would be delighted to know that she has such dedicated fans all over the globe that also want in on the fruits of her labor. Not insulted.

 

[Burst]

What's the purpose of "branching out" if you're going to severely restrict the public's access to your projects, though? Lol doesn't that kind of defeat the entire thing? and I wasn't encouraging her international fans to imply that she's "belittling" them, but rather just to express the fact that they do indeed exist and would also appreciate having access to her special. Talk about an overreaction lmaooo... You literally can't say anything at this place without certain people catching feelings over it. I was just trying to put myself in their shoes, and how I would be thinking if I were them. I already watched the entire special, so I'm not personally affected by this. My concern is simply for other fans that have also offered their long-time support and therefore deserve an equal opportunity to enjoy her projects. I'd think that Carrie would be delighted to know that she has such dedicated fans all over the globe that also want in on the fruits of her labor. Not insulted.

I agree with this. If they’re going to give her more exposure, why half ass it? The special is great! But they should either put it on a bigger/international platform (Netflix/YouTube etc), or given international fans the chance to watch it. Her team does that a lot.. Streaming support has been half assed as well. I don’t get it.

 

[pkc4rls]

What's the purpose of "branching out" if you're going to severely restrict the public's access to your projects, though? Lol doesn't that kind of defeat the entire thing? and I wasn't encouraging her international fans to imply that she's "belittling" them, but rather just to express the fact that they do indeed exist and would also appreciate having access to her special. Talk about an overreaction lmaooo... You literally can't say anything at this place without certain people catching feelings over it. I was just trying to put myself in their shoes, and how I would be thinking if I were them. I already watched the entire special, so I'm not personally affected by this. My concern is simply for other fans that have also offered their long-time support and therefore deserve an equal opportunity to enjoy her projects. I'd think that Carrie would be delighted to know that she has such dedicated fans all over the globe that also want in on the fruits of her labor. Not insulted.

But even if they had it on the regular HBO or showtime or on Netflix, there are always going to be people that don’t have access to it.

 

[adam1995]

What's the purpose of "branching out" if you're going to severely restrict the public's access to your projects, though? Lol doesn't that kind of defeat the entire thing? and I wasn't encouraging her international fans to imply that she's "belittling" them, but rather just to express the fact that they do indeed exist and would also appreciate having access to her special. Talk about an overreaction lmaooo... You literally can't say anything at this place without certain people catching feelings over it. I was just trying to put myself in their shoes, and how I would be thinking if I were them. I already watched the entire special, so I'm not personally affected by this. My concern is simply for other fans that have also offered their long-time support and therefore deserve an equal opportunity to enjoy her projects. I'd think that Carrie would be delighted to know that she has such dedicated fans all over the globe that also want in on the fruits of her labor. Not insulted.

"you're basically being told that your long-time following and support of her career is too insignificant"

This is what you said. This implies that fans should tell her that she sees them as insignificant. Not an overreaction, I'm literally reading your words. And I will be that "certain person" "catching feelings" when the criticism is ridiculous and unwarranted. My problem was definitely the phrase I quoted. It was rude, and out of line. To suggest that Carrie doesn't see or care about every fan, is absurd.

Also, I'm just sick of negativity this year, and that's all Carrie seems to catch, even when she gives you this great special. Like I said, I won't be seeing the special, but I don't feel that she feels my support is insignificant.

 

[adam1995]

But even if they had it on the regular HBO or showtime or on Netflix, there are always going to be people that don’t have access to it.

Thank you!!! Carrie will never please everybody.

 

[jptexas]

HBO Max probably had a contract with Carrie’s people to lure new subscribers to the streaming site. It probably worked. I’m thinking they’ll eventually have the special on cable HBO, which is only right cause if you have regular cable HBO, you’re entitled to the Max version. I saw the special through my iPhone, which allows the app to be downloaded free, and passed it through my tv through my ROKU.

 

[MelissaD]

They probably got a really good deal with HBO Max, and ended up being able to allocate a bigger budget toward the special than they otherwise would have if it were streamed on a different platform that charged them a higher rate. I get it from a business perspective I guess, but not really since if they were to broaden the range of potential viewership, the additional exposure could have boosted overall sales for the album. I'm sure there was some sort of method to their madness, but still very unfortunate that so many fans both within the U.S.-demographic and abroad were left without access.

HBO Max probably had a contract with Carrie’s people to lure new subscribers to the streaming site.

Good thinking. & in turn, they probably got a nice discount for that. Makes sense.

 

[MelissaD]

"you're basically being told that your long-time following and support of her career is too insignificant"

This is what you said. This implies that fans should tell her that she sees them as insignificant. Not an overreaction, I'm literally reading your words. And I will be that "certain person" "catching feelings" when the criticism is ridiculous and unwarranted. My problem was definitely the phrase I quoted. It was rude, and out of line. To suggest that Carrie doesn't see or care about every fan, is absurd.

Also, I'm just sick of negativity this year, and that's all Carrie seems to catch, even when she gives you this great special. Like I said, I won't be seeing the special, but I don't feel that she feels my support is insignificant.

I meant that as directed more towards her team than her, as I'm sure she's not directly involved in all of the complex nooks and crannies with regards to budgeting and all the other intricacies that are weighed on the business side of things. I mentioned to tag her in the tweets just so that it's brought to her attention, so she can direct her team accordingly next time.

 

[MelissaD]

But even if they had it on the regular HBO or showtime or on Netflix, there are always going to be people that don’t have access to it.

Those platforms are definitely a whole lot less restrictive than HBOMax, which was literally just launched not even half a year ago. They're also available outside of the U.S. Not even remotely comparable.

 

[NEILHUNK]

As a marketing person, I think that Carrie's team must have good reasons why they do, what they do. Let's trust the process. There are a lot of things we don't know. And a lot of our assumptions are just that, assumptions since we are not privy to any metrics, financial benefits and the politics behind it all. Let's just do what we can do to help. buy the albums/songs, watch the videos, and then stream, stream, stream

 

[Daveunder]

What's the purpose of "branching out" if you're going to severely restrict the public's access to your projects, though? Lol doesn't that kind of defeat the entire thing? and I wasn't encouraging her international fans to imply that she's "belittling" them, but rather just to express the fact that they do indeed exist and would also appreciate having access to her special. Talk about an overreaction lmaooo... You literally can't say anything at this place without certain people catching feelings over it. I was just trying to put myself in their shoes, and how I would be thinking if I were them. I already watched the entire special, so I'm not personally affected by this. My concern is simply for other fans that have also offered their long-time support and therefore deserve an equal opportunity to enjoy her projects. I'd think that Carrie would be delighted to know that she has such dedicated fans all over the globe that also want in on the fruits of her labor. Not insulted.

As an international fan, I think you hit the nail right on the head with this post

 

[PRGuy79]

I finally figured out how to sync my HBO Max app with our smart television and stream the special. It was so beautifully done! Very impressive.

 

[liz278]

I saw an article about HBO Max, they have added 12.6 million subscribers. I hope a lot of them have seen the special.

 

[cmuf2011]

Is Christmas music big overseas ie in Spanish speaking countries? Just wondering if maybe y’all remember with PO Carrie released an Australian deluxe version of the album 20 months after the regular PO album. So I’m wondering if Carrie team is building up her Spanish speaking fan base with the tears of gold duet then later on released an English Spanish version ie sing the chorus in Spanish or something.

Also imo there is definitely a deal/contract with the HBO max special