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HBO Max is the latest streaming services to raise its prices.
The streaming giant, owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, announced Tuesday that it is raising prices across all plans. HBO Max’s Basic with ads plan is increasing $1 a month to $10.99, the Standard plan is going up $1.50 to $18.49, and Premium is increasing $2 to $22.99. HBO Max last raised prices in June 2024.
The price hikes are effective immediately for new subscriptions. Existing monthly subscribers will be notified 30 days in advance of their plan renewing, with the new prices starting on their next billing date on or after November 20, the company said.
The updates come as the streaming market becomes increasingly saturated with options — and as other major apps hike their prices. Disney raised the price of its Disney+ plans and bundles last month, Apple hiked the price of Apple TV by 30% in August and Netflix raised its prices early this year.
WBD CEO David Zaslav indicated in September that price increases were on the way along with a stricter crackdown on sharing passwords.
“The fact that this is quality, and that’s true across our company, motion picture, TV production and streaming quality, we all think that gives us a chance to raise prices,” Zaslav said at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference last month. “We think we’re way underpriced.”
As of June 30, WBD said it had 125.7 million paying subscribers to all of its streaming services. That stat includes HBO Max as well as other legacy linear subscribers to HBO, who have access to the streaming service.
HBO Max’s news comes as its parent company, WBD, undergoes changes of its own. The company announced in June that it plans to split into two public companies by 2026. A streaming and studios company would include its movie properties and HBO Max, while a global networks business would include linear channels like CNN and TNT Sports.
At the same time, WBD is fielding takeout interest from companies including Paramount Skydance and said Tuesday it’s open to a sale.
