HBO Max is raising the price of its ad-free month-long service for customers in the U.S. from $14.99 to $15.99 with applicable taxes, beginning immediately for all new subscribers. This is the first time HBO Max has increased the cost of its services since it was launched in May of 2020.
“Existing subscribers who are currently paying $14.99/month will see their monthly rate increase to $15.99 effective their next billing cycle on or after Saturday, February 11, 2023,” the company stated in the statement. “This price increase of one dollar will allow us to continue to invest in providing even more culture-defining programming and improving our customer experience for all users.”
The cost of HBO Max ad-supported service will remain the same in the amount of $9.99 monthly.
The price increase comes just only a few days prior to the premiere of HBO Max’s highly-anticipated “The Last of Us” TV adaptation on the 15th of January. The debut of the show on TV is thought of as an opportunity to allow HBO Max to convince fans of the game to sign up to the streaming service.
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It’s not a good time to announce HBO Max to introduce a price increase, considering that it’s been taking a number of series from its services over the last few months. The last month the company announced that it would be shifting more than 10, HBO Max original series to third-party streaming television that is ad-supported (FAST) service. These comprise “Westworld,” “The Nevers,” “Raised by Wolves,” “FBOY Island,” “Legendary,” “Finding Magic Mike,” “Head of the Class,” “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” “Gordita Chronicles,” “Love Life,” “Made for Love, “The Garcias” and “Minx.”
Warner Bros. Discovery Director of Operations David Zaslav recently said that it would be difficult to reach the 2023 revenue forecast which is estimated at $12 billion. The price increase that was announced today could be an opportunity to help the company lessen the damage.
