• by Wayne Friedman , June 4, 2024

Warner Bros Discovery streaming platform Max just instituted a major price hike -- adding $1 a month to its core ad-free plan to make it now $16.99 a month.

Max has the highest monthly price point among all premium streaming platforms -- now topping Netflix’s most popular ad-free option, which remains at $15.49 a month.

WBD, and many other premium streamers, continue to post regular price hikes as the streaming business has matured.

Buying Max’s "Ad-Free" plan on a yearly basis (which offers a discount to the monthly basis) will increase by $20 to $169.99 per year.

Max’s pricier “Ultimate Ad-Free” plan will also tack on another $1 per month -- now at a new price of $20.99/month; the yearly Ultimate Ad-Free plan will increase $10 per year, making it $209.99/year.

The Ultimate Ad-Free plan allows subscribers to stream on four devices at once via 4K Ultra HD video quality when available. It also includes Dolby Atmos immersive audio available, with the ability for consumers to make 100 downloads to watch on the go.

The price changes go into effect immediately.

WBD will keep its ad-supported "Max With Ads” plan, the least expensive of all its plans, at the same price level -- $9.99/month.

WBD’s move is in keeping with many premium streamers looking to monetize more of their advertising business by pushing some of its targeted customers to the ad-supports service where they hope to gain higher video media spend ad dollars from major brands.