In this photo illustration the Warner Bros. Discovery logo seen displayed on a smartphone screen.
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Warner Bros. DiscoveryMax announced price increases for its ad-free options on Tuesday, as a variety of streamers make their memberships more expensive.
The move comes just 12 days before the debut of the second season of HBO's “Game of Thrones” prequel, “House of the Dragon,” whose premiere garnered nearly 10 million viewers, making it the largest in HBO history.
Max currently has three pricing options: with ads; ad free; and the latest ad-free, which allows more devices and downloads than the cheapest plans.
The price of the streaming service's ad-free option will increase by $1 per month to $16.99, while the annual ad-free plan will increase by $20 per year to $169.99. The cost of the ad-free Ultimate plan will also increase by $1 per month to $20.99, while the annual Ultimate plan will increase by $10 per year to $209.99. The ad-supported option will remain unchanged at $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year.
While pricing will take effect immediately for new subscribers, existing subscribers will see the price increase starting with their next billing cycle starting July 4.
Price increase follows Warner Bros. Discovery and disney decision to group its streaming services, Disney+, Max and Hulu. The package will be available in ad-supported and ad-free tiers. While pricing has not been revealed, CNBC reported that it will be offered at a discount in an effort to make it a more desirable option.
Last month, Warner Bros. Discovery missed revenue and bottom line estimates for its first-quarter earnings report, despite adding two million direct-to-consumer streaming subscribers during the quarter.
On the company's earnings conference call, CEO David Zaslav said Warner Bros. Discovery hopes subscribers will stick with the bundle offer to take advantage of cheaper prices, decreasing customer churn, which he said , has been “the killer” in the streaming business. .
This is only the second time Max has raised prices for its ad-free service since its launch. In early 2023, Max increased the price of the ad-free tier from $14.99 to $15.99 a month, an increase the company said would allow it to invest in its content and user experience.
Prices are increasing throughout the streaming world. Last month, Comcast NBCUniversal increased the ad-supported and ad-free offerings of its Peacock platform by $2 per month ahead of its Olympics coverage later this summer. Last summer, Netflix ditched its cheaper basic ad-free option in the US and UK markets, instead offering a cheaper but ad-supported option and more expensive ad-free options.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.
