While we know the end goal of newly minted Warner Bros Discovery is to combine their two current streaming platforms- HBO Max and Discovery+- into one entity, details are still frustratingly sparse, including a solid timeline for the coming merger. We now know one thing, however- whenever it happens, expect subscription costs to rise, too. Entertainment attorney with Blake & Wang P.A, Brandon Blake, gives us the full story.
3 Years Without Increases
In absolute fairness, HBO Max has now gone three years with no changes to either its subscription pricing or its advertising experience on ad-supported offerings. It set its monthly premium tier subscription at $15 in 2020, and there it has remained since. In June last year, a $10 ad-supported tier was added. However, news that the ad load may well double by the combined entities launch likely won’t be accepted all that well across the board. Currently, HBO, HBO Max, and Discovery+ have a combined 94.9M subscribers.
An Early Spring 2023 Launch?
As Warner Bros Discovery makes huge changes to their upcoming content and even their operating models, news about the merger of their streaming platforms has been slow to arrive. Currently, they’re eyeing a spring 2023 rollout for the new entity, in whatever form it takes. HBO Max was, at launch, the most expensive streaming offering in the US market, so the three-year price freeze has simply brought it into line with other streaming services- Netflix, for example, has its premium tier set at $15.45 currently.
And let’s be brutal- the new company has some serious financial hurdles to clear. With the merger, theoretically at least, creating a stronger product offering, a price hike is not that unreasonable. Nor have they seen much of a ‘trade down’ to the ad-supported tier from existing subscribers, suggesting their offerings are still seen as worthwhile.
For now, the predicted increase seems to be only for the ad-supported tier. Will expecting watchers to front a higher ad load for that increased cost sit well with them, however? The company clearly sees it as a revenue-boosting opportunity. Whether subscribers agree will, for now at least, have to remain to be seen.
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