HBO Max Price Hike Is Starting Sooner Than Expected—Here’s Everything You Need To Know

This month, the price for a monthly HBO Max subscription will increase from $14.99 to $15.99.

While a $1 price increase may not seem too significant, the streaming service, as PC reports, says it is doing so to “invest in more programming,” even though it’s been “taking shows off,” as fans continue to call out on social media.

Here’s what we know:

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Regarding the monthly price increase, HBO Max said to customers in a statement last week, “Existing subscribers who are currently paying $14.99/month will see their monthly rate increase to $15.99 effective their next billing cycle on or after Saturday, February 11, 2023.”

The company added, “This is the first time HBO Max has increased the price of a monthly subscription since launching in May 2020.”

While the streaming provider stressed that this will be done to “invest in providing even more culture-defining programming and improving our customer experience for all users,” this comes after HBO Max has been “steadily removing the number of shows accessible on the service,” as PC notes.

This has since sparked countless consumer complaints on Twitter and elsewhere.

In December 2022, HBO Max removed beloved shows like Westworld, The Nevers, Raised by Wolves and several other television series, explaining that they will instead end up on free, ad-supported streaming services.

Naturally, this upset many HBO Max subscribers, who took to Twitter to express their disappointment:

The early 2023 price hike— as PC points out— is happening while HBO Max parent company Warner Bros. Discovery prepares to merge the platform with Discovery+ sometime in the spring.

This new and supposedly revamped HBO Max should receive an “influx of new content from its counterpart later this year,” the publication adds, “perhaps making it more worthwhile.” For anyone on a budget, HBO Max currently offers an ad-supported plan for $9.99 a month, its currently cheapest option.