Warner Bros. Discovery is increasing the monthly price of HBO Max for the first time since its launch more than two years ago.
Starting Thursday, January 12, the price for a new monthly ad-free subscription to HBO Max in the US will increase from $14.99 to $15.99 (plus applicable taxes). That’s an increase of nearly 7%. Existing HBO Max subscribers currently paying $14.99/month will see their monthly rate at $15.99/month beginning with the next billing cycle on or after Saturday, February 11, 2023.
“This $1 price increase will allow us to continue investing in delivering even more culture-defining programming and improving our customer experience for all users,” the company said in a statement.
The price increase comes as Warner Bros. Discovery, formed by Discovery’s acquisition of WarnerMedia in 2022, made a series of content cuts to lower costs. Among them: HBO Max has deleted several exclusive movie titles and original series, as well as 200 older Sesame Street episodes, and also canceled the HBO Max original series “Minx” (undoing the second season renewal) and HBO’s “The Nevers.” HBO Max also removed 256 classic Looney Tunes shorts and three seasons of The Flintstones.
HBO Max launched in May 2020 for $14.99 per month when it was still part of AT&T’s WarnerMedia. In June 2021, the company launched an ad-supported HBO Max plan that costs $9.99/month; WBD officials did not immediately respond to a query as to whether the price of this package would also increase.
Warner Bros. Discovery had previously signaled that an HBO Max price hike was imminent. In November, JB Perrette, President and CEO of Global Streaming and Games, told investors that the company had an “opportunity” to raise the price of HBO Max’s ad-free tier. By 2023, he said, “it will be three years since prices have changed, which we think is an opportunity, especially in this environment… We think there’s actually some price advantage for us in ad-free offerings.” [HBO Max] service and we can probably move north of today’s prices.”
Meanwhile, the media conglomerate is preparing a merged HBO Max Discovery+ platform, which is set to launch in the US in spring 2023. The company hasn’t announced any details on pricing, packaging, or a name just yet – although “Max” is the front-runner at this point.
Warner Bros. Discovery said last month there could be up to $3.5 billion in content impairment costs and development writedowns as a result of the merger.
