Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has announced that it will be raising the prices of its ad-free plans on its streaming service, Max. The new pricing will take effect immediately for new subscribers. The monthly ad-free plan will increase by $1 to $16.99 per month, while the annual ad-free plan will rise by $20 to $169.99 per year.
For those who opt for the ultimate ad-free tier, which includes four concurrent streams and 4K streaming options, the monthly price will increase by $1 to $20.99, and the yearly plan will increase by $10 to $209.99.
However, the ad-supported plan will remain unchanged at $9.99 per month.
This price hike comes just over a year after Warner Bros. merged its HBO Max and Discovery+ streaming services to create Max. The announcement also coincides with the upcoming release of the second season of Warner Bros.’ popular prequel, “House of the Dragon,” which is set to premiere on June 16.
Streaming companies have been facing profitability challenges and as a result, have been increasing their prices, much to the disappointment of consumers. One area that has seen significant price increases is the ad-free plans, as platforms aim to drive viewership and engagement on their newly launched ad-supported platforms.
In 2023, almost all major streaming companies raised the prices of their services, and this trend has continued into 2024. Comcast’s popular streaming service, Peacock, recently announced that it will be raising its prices again in July, just before the 2024 Paris Olympics. This comes after the service increased its prices for the first time last summer.