Sometime in the next few months, the long-awaited/dreaded merger of HBO Max and Discovery+ will begin. One of the many questions subscribers to both Warner Bros. Discovery services had as the day approached was how much of a price increase the new streamer would bring. And how did it turn out? It won’t be in it at all. Bloomberg writes.
According to Bloomberg, Warner Bros. Discovery will keep the ad-supported tier of the new service at the current price of $10, while the ad-free premium version will cost $15-$16 per month; it previously cost $15.99 after the service made its first price hike last January. Instead, the company plans to sell a new subscription that offers consumers better video quality and other possible services for roughly a $20 per month premium.
IndieWire reached out to Warner representatives. Bros Discovery for the comment.
The new service, currently unnamed but widely believed to be called Max, will include all of HBO Max’s programming (or what’s left of it) along with thousands of hours of Discovery+ content. The two services have very different brands; HBO Max is best known for the HBO premium cable network’s programming and prestige original programming, as well as its collection of classic movies. Discovery+ offers hours of reality and factual programming from Discovery’s cable brands, including franchise entries such as “90 Day Fiancé” and “Dr. Pimple Popper.”
Although originally announced as a merger between HBO Max and Discovery+, the move is actually more of a rebranding of Max, which will likely lose the HBO branding and gain thousands of new shows from its sister streamer. Discovery+. Discovery+, meanwhile, will retain a separate streamer from HBO Max, likely due to the significant price difference; it currently costs just $4.99 a month with ads and $6.99 without ads. Combined, both streamers have 96.1 million subscribers, most of whom use HBO Max.
Warner Bros. Discovery plans to release more information about the combined service, as well as the proposed in-house FAST service, at a press day scheduled for April 12. The new streamer is expected to be available to consumers in the weeks following the event. .
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