HBO Max has announced today the streamer is increasing the price of its monthly subscription by one dollar. This is the first time HBO Max has increased its subscription price since the streamer launched in May 2020. Still, the price change comes just as HBO Max goes through a content purge that pushed many beloved movies and films out of the streamer.
Starting today, Thursday, January 12, new HBO Max subscribers will pay $15.99 plus applicable taxes for the service’s monthly subscription against the previous $14.99. Existing subscribers will only see the price increase in their next billing on or after Saturday, February 11. According to the company, “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.”
HBO Max’s Price Chance Comes as the Streamer Cuts Content
While the increase in the subscription price by only one dollar seems reasonable, the timing couldn’t be worse for the company. Ever since the Warner Bros. Discovery merger, the company’s new CEO David Zaslav has adopted an aggressive policy to cutting costs that led to the cancelation of many beloved shows or the puzzling removal of content from the streamer. For instance, one of Zaslav’s first victims was Batgirl, a movie already in post-production.
The company didn’t stop with unfinished projects, though, as HBO Max has constantly been purging content over the past few months, especially family-friendly films and series. Among the animated series removed from the service, we can count Aquaman: King of Atlantis and the critically acclaimed series Infinity Train. The classic Looney Tunes collection and more than 200 episodes of Sesame Street were also sacked to decrease the company’s costs. And after January 31, no one in the family will be able to enjoy fan-favorite animated series such as Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. In short, for HBO Max’s subscribers, it’s the wrong time to be a kid or a superhero fan.
The streamer wave of cancelations also affected fan-favorite series such as Westworld, which was not only canceled ahead of its fifth and final season but also completely removed from HBO Max. The critically acclaimed comedy Minx was also canceled, even after being misleadingly renewed for a second season. Even entire departments, such as Cartoon Network, fell victim to Zaslav’s business strategy.
Some subscribers might still wonder if it’s worth to keep paying for the service when we don’t know what will be left once Zaslav is done. And the subscription price increase might not help HBO Max to make a case for the service.