Warner Bros. Discovery has angered customers by raising the price of its ad-free Max plan for a second time.
The price increase from $1 to $16.99 per month for the ad-free tier will take effect immediately for new subscribers.
The ‘ultimate’ ad-free option, which offers 4K streaming and the ability to use four accounts simultaneously, will also increase by $1 to $20.99.
The streamer is also increasing its annual ad-free subscription by $20 to $169.99 per year, with the ultimate version rising to $209.99 per year.
The ad-supported price remains unchanged at $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year.
The timing coincides with a major push for the release of the new season of the critically acclaimed show House of Dragon.
Warner Bros Discovery has increased the price of its ad-free Max subscription for the second time
Current monthly subscribers will be notified of the price changes 30 days before their subscription renews.
These subscribers will have to pay the new prices, switch to another subscription or cancel their subscription.
The first price changes will be implemented after the July billing cycle.
Annual subscriptions will not change until the renewal date, the streamer confirmed.
Some customers said they would ‘definitely cancel’ their subscriptions in protest at the sudden price increase.
“I’ll pay a month later this year after The House of the Dragon and The Penguin are out,” one subscriber wrote on Reddit after the announcement Tuesday.
They added: ‘I think spreading subscriptions across different platforms is the way to do this these days.’
“I dropped it after the last price increase but I bought it last month to catch up on Curb and since House of the Dragon started,” another complained.
“I’m just going to go ahead and cancel now and eat this show later this year,” the user explained.
Plans that include advertising will not change in price.
The plan is likely an attempt to attract more subscribers to plans that show commercials, which on average are more lucrative per user for Warner Bros Discovery.
The price increase coincides with a major push for the release of the new season of the critically acclaimed show House of Dragon
This is the second increase in ad-free subscription prices that Warner Bros has implemented for Max, formerly known as HBO Max.
In January 2023, the company increased the price of monthly ad-free subscriptions from $14.99 to $15.99.
As more and more streaming services flood the market, companies have had to raise their prices and adapt their business models in an effort to improve profitability.
When it comes to television, eight of the nine major services have increased their prices in the past year, an analysis by DailyMail.com found.
Apple TV+, for example, has increased the price of its ad-free variant by a whopping 43 percent – from $6.99 to $9.99.
The vast majority of streaming platforms have increased in price over the past year – some by as much as 43 percent
Spotify has announced that the cost of its ‘Individual’ ad-free premium subscription will increase by $1 per month in the US to $11.99
Disney+, meanwhile, increased the price of its offering by 27 percent – from $10.99 to $13.99.
Last October, Netflix dropped its $9.99 per month “basic” ad-free plan for new members – and increased it to $11.99 for existing members.
It means that the cheapest plan without advertising for new participants is the ‘standard’ plan at $15.49 per month.
Other subscription services have increased prices in recent months.
On Monday, Spotify announced it was raising its prices for the second time in a year.
The music streaming giant has announced that the cost of its ‘Individual’ ad-free premium plans will increase by $1 per month in the US to $11.99.