HBO Max increases monthly subscription for the first time

Against a background of heavy losses, Warner Bros Discovery is increasing the price of its streaming service HBO Max in the US by US$1 per month to US$15.99. The 7% increase is the first ever price hike for the platform and comes at a time when it has just removed several fan favourite franchises including Westworld and Looney Tunes.

At time of writing, it is not clear of WBD will also seek to increase the price of HBO Max in other territories. Explaining the rational for the increase, WBD said: “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 price hike comes despite the fact that HBO Max in its present form probably doesn’t have many more months to live. WBD is currently in the process of rebuilding its global streaming offering with a view to rollout in Spring of this year. The new-look service will incorporate HBO content as part of a broader offering.

The $1 price hike is not too painful compared to some of the price increases imposed at other streamers and PayTV platforms. However some consumers will be aggrieved that it coincides with the removal of some shows from the platform. The latter is part of WBD’s attempt to rebuild revenues from third party content distribution.