Despite Price Hike, HBO Max Users Who Subscribed Through Prime Video Channels Won’t See Increase Until April
Despite Price Hike, HBO Max Users Who Subscribed Through Prime Video Channels Won’t See Increase Until April
HBO Max caused more than a little grumbling amongst its users last week, when it announced that it was raising the cost of an ad-free subscription from $14.99 per month to $15.99. The increase took effect immediately, but apparently not for all users.
HBO Max subscribers who are currently signed up through Prime Video Channels will not see their monthly cost increase until April. That’s according to one Reddit user, who was notified of the still-impending increase by Amazon. Still, it’s doubtful that HBO Max users who got their subscription via Prime Video will complain about this reprieve, however temporary it might be.
The amount of users affected by the delayed price increase for HBO Max through Prime Video is likely not terribly large. HBO Max has only been available through Prime Video Channels since early December, after an absence of over a year from the platform. That means it’s unlikely a sizeable chunk of customers have been able to subscribe to HBO Max through Prime Video since its return. There has been no word of whether or not customers who signed up for the service via other platforms, including Hulu, will see their rates increased immediately, or later in the spring.
Still, for a company as focused on pivoting to profitability as HBO Max’s parent company Warner Bros. Discovery is, the delay is less than ideal. HBO Max likely timed the price increase precisely to occur the week before a new, highly anticipated series like “The Last of Us” premiered in order to keep customers from bolting. The timing is now thrown off, at least for users who signed up through Prime Video Channels.
It’s a big week for HBO Max in terms of programming. In addition to “The Last of Us,” the service is gearing up to broadcast its first live sports event in the United States, when the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team takes on the New Zealand squad on Tuesday, Jan. 17. HBO Max also saw the debut of the new animated series “Velma” on the same day it announced it was raising its subscription cost.
As the stacking of streaming services increases, rising subscription costs will likely keep churn rates higher than streamers want to see for the foreseeable future. Aggregation may help bring costs down again, and HBO Max will do its part when it merges with discovery+ later this spring. Whether that unification is accompanied by another cost increase has yet to be determined, but HBO Max users who are currently subscribed through Prime Video Channels have a few months before they have to worry about price hikes.
HBO Max
HBO Max is a subscription video streaming service that gives access to the full HBO library and exclusive Max Originals. There are hubs for content from TLC, HGTV, Food Network, Discovery, TCM, Cartoon Network, Travel Channel, ID, and more. Watch hit series like “The Last of Us,” “House of the Dragon,” “Succession,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and more. Within HBO Max, B/R Sports allows users to watch live NBA, MLB, NHL, March Madness, and NASCAR events.