Max Increases Prices for Ad-Free Subscribers
By Movieguide® Contributor
Warner Bros. Discovery has just announced its plan to increase the price for ad-free subscriptions on Max.
Per The Wrap, “the streamer’s monthly ad-free plan will increase by $1 to $16.99 per month and $20 to $169.99 per year. Meanwhile, the ultimate ad-free plan will increase by $1 to $20.99 per month and $10 to $209.99 per year. Max’s ad-supported plan remains unchanged at $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year.”
The streamer hasn’t wasted any time and already updated its “Max plans and prices.” These include:
- With Ads – $9.99/month or $99.99/year (16% savings)
- Stream on 2 devices at once
- Full HD 1080p
- Ad-Free – $16.99/month or $169.99/year (16% savings)
- Stream on 2 devices at once
- Full HD 1080p
- 30 downloads to watch on the go
- Ultimate Ad-Free – $20.99/month or $209.99/year (16% savings)
- Stream on 4 devices at once
- Stream in 4K UHD, Dolby Atmos, Dolby Vision, and HDR 10 on select titles
- 100 downloads to watch on the go
“Existing subscribers will be notified 30 days in advance of their plan renewing and see price increases starting from their next billing cycle on or after Thursday, July 4, 2024. Current yearly subscribers will not see an increase until renewal,” WBD said in a statement.
The purpose of the price increase is to “accelerate the streamer’s profitability — and also encourage more price-sensitive consumers to sign up for the ad-supported plan,” Variety reported.
CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels said on an earnings call, “With our strong start in Q1, I expect us to remain profitable in the [direct-to-consumer] segment during 2024, despite the heavy launch investments. I remain fully confident in our path to achieve our $1 billion plus EBITDA target for 2025 and our growth ambitions thereafter.”
This is the second time Warner Bros. has increased the price for Max subscribers. In January 2023, the price increased by a dollar for each subscription.
Movieguide® previously reported on Max:
Max is joining the bandwagon of password-sharing crackdowns.
The streamer will likely begin implementing restrictions this fall. This action follows Netflix’s success in implementing password-sharing restrictions.
“Netflix earned soaring numbers once they rolled out the password sharing crackdown, as people signed up for memberships in hopes of keeping the platform. Max, upon seeing this success, will probably follow a similar tactic to retain as many subscribers as possible later in the year,” MSN reported.
Variety reported on the major subscription boost Netflix found after implementing the rule.
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