Warner Bros. Discovery has angered customers by raising the price of its ad-free Max subscription for the 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 ad-free “ultimate” option, which offers 4k streaming and the ability to run four accounts at the same time, will also increase by $1 to $20.99.
The streamer is also increasing its annual ad-free plan by $20 to $169.99 a year, with the ultimate version increasing to $209.99 a year.
Ad-supported pricing remains unchanged at $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year.
The timing coincides with a big push for the release of the new season of the critically acclaimed show House of Dragon.
Warner Bros Discovery has raised the price of its ad-free Max subscription for the second time
Current monthly subscribers will be alerted to price changes 30 days before their plan renews.
These subscribers will have to pay the new prices, move to a different plan, or cancel their subscriptions.
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 for a month at the end of this year, after House of the Dragon and Penguin come out,” one subscriber wrote on Reddit following Tuesday’s announcement.
They added: “I think the way to do it today is amazingly subscriptions with different platforms.”
“I had dropped it after the last price increase, but I bought it last month to catch up on Curb and since House of the Dragon was starting,” another complained.
“I’m going to go ahead and cancel now and enjoy this show later this year,” the user explained.
Plans that include ads will not change price.
The plan is likely an attempt to attract more subscribers to plans that show commercials, which is more lucrative per user on average for Warner Bros. Discovery.
The price increase coincides with a big 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 made for Max, formerly known as HBO Max.
In January 2023, the company increased the price of ad-free monthly subscriptions from $14.99 to $15.99.
As more and more streaming services have flooded the market, companies have had to raise their prices and alter their business models in a bid to improve profitability.
When it comes to TV, eight of the top nine services have increased their prices in the last year, DailyMail.com analysis revealed.
Apple TV+, for example, increased the price of its ad-free tier by a whopping 43 percent, from $6.99 to $9.99.
The vast majority of streaming platforms have increased their price in the last year, some by as much as 43 percent.
Spotify announced that the cost of its ad-free premium subscription plan ‘Individual’ in the US will increase by $1 per month to $11.99
Meanwhile, Disney+ increased the price of its offering by 27 percent, from $10.99 to $13.99.
Last October, Netflix removed its ad-free “basic” plan of $9.99 per month for new members and increased it to $11.99 for existing members.
It means their cheapest ad-free plan for new members is the “standard” at $15.49 per month.
Other subscription services have increased prices in recent months.
On Monday, Spotify announced it would be raising its prices for the second time in a year.
The music streaming giant announced that the cost of its ad-free ‘Individual’ premium subscription plans in the US will increase by $1 per month to $11.99.