In a press release published on Thursday, the company announced the decision to increase the monthly price of HBO Max by $1, effective immediately. The news pertains to HBO's ad-free tier, which moves from $14.99 to $15.99 a month. This is the first price increase the streaming service has implemented since its launch in May 2020.
Existing HBO Max subscribers will see their bills go up by nearly 7% in the next billing cycle concluding on or after February 11. This development comes shortly after HBO Max removed vast quantities of content from the streaming platform in order to cut expenses.
Westworld and hundreds of classic cartoons like Sesame Street were caught in the crossfire. This added on top of the previous cancellations which included three seasons of The Flintstones and an HBO Max original series "Minx", which previously received a Season 2 renewal.
"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 said in the press release addressing the public. It's important to note that their ad-supported plan, which was introduced in June 2021, will keep its $9.99 per month cost for now. The pricing on the streaming platform had stayed the same since its launch, back when AT&T owned Warner Media.