Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max Raises Prices for Ad-Free Streaming Options

Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming service, Max, has announced price increases for its ad-free options, joining a growing list of streamers that are making their memberships more expensive. The price hikes come just 12 days before the highly anticipated season two debut of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” prequel, “House of the Dragon,” which had a record-breaking series premiere with nearly 10 million viewers.

Max currently offers three pricing options: with ads, ad-free, and ultimate ad-free. The ad-free option will see a $1 per month increase to $16.99, while the yearly ad-free plan will rise by $20 to $169.99. The ultimate ad-free plan will also see a $1 per month increase to $20.99, with the yearly plan jumping $10 to $209.99. The ad-supported option will remain unchanged at $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year.

While new subscribers will immediately face the increased prices, existing subscribers will see the price hike starting from their next billing cycle on or after July 4th.

The decision to raise prices follows Warner Bros. Discovery’s recent partnership with Disney to bundle their streaming services, including Disney+, Max, and Hulu. The pricing details for the bundle have not been disclosed yet, but it is expected to be offered at a discount to make it a more appealing option.

Warner Bros. Discovery had a disappointing first-quarter earnings report, missing both top- and bottom-line estimates. However, the company did manage to add two million direct-to-consumer streaming subscribers during the quarter. CEO David Zaslav expressed hope that these subscribers will opt for the bundle offering to take advantage of cheaper prices, reducing customer churn, which he referred to as “the killer” in the streaming business.

This is only the second time Max has increased prices for its ad-free service since its launch. In early 2023, the price was raised from $14.99 to $15.99 per month, with the company citing the need to invest in content and user experience as the reason for the increase.

The trend of rising prices is not unique to Max. Last month, NBCUniversal’s Peacock platform increased both its ad-supported and ad-free offerings by $2 per month ahead of its coverage of the Olympics this summer. Netflix also eliminated its cheapest basic ad-free option in the U.S. and U.K. markets last summer, instead offering a cheaper yet ad-supported option and more expensive ad-free options.

As streaming services continue to compete for subscribers and invest in content, it is likely that price hikes will become more common. Consumers will need to weigh the value of ad-free options against the increasing costs of their favorite streaming services.