Subscription prices for HBO Max, Warner Bros. Discovery's premiere streaming service, may soon be on the rise.

According to CNBC, Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Financial Officer Gunnar Wiedenfels considers the company's two streaming services, HBO Max and Discovery+, "fundamentally unpriced," suggesting prices will soon increase. The current price of HBO Max is $14.99 per month, with an ad-based tier available for $9.99. Discovery+ is $6.99 per month, with a $4.99 ad-based option.

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The price hike will likely occur sometime in mid-2023 when Warner Bros. Discovery merges HBO Max and Discovery+ into one service. Wiedenfels said the move is due in part to HBO Max's breadth of high-quality content, citing the streamer's success at this year's Emmy Awards. HBO Max took home 38 statues during the awards show on Sept. 12, including ones for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series for The White Lotus and Outstanding Drama Series for Succession, the most of any other streaming service or network. The streamer also had the most nominations, earning a total of 140.

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Wiedenfels believes combining Warner Bros. Discovery's two streamers will create a wider variety of content that will help reduce "churn," the number of streamers who cancel their subscriptions. Increasing prices and retention rates will help Warner Bros. Discovery meet its business goals announced in August. These include breaking even on the company's streaming ventures by 2024 and reaching 130 million global subscribers and $1 billion in profit by 2025. These moves may also help the company recoup some of its stock losses following a series of cancellations at HBO Max.

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In August, Warner Bros. Discovery canceled several HBO Max projects in various stages of development. This does not include the $825 million in content losses the company already accrued from projects canceled before the end of June. The company also cut 70 jobs at HBO Max, reducing its workforce by 14%, and conducted a series of layoffs in Europe. The company previously lost $208 million in employee terminations by the end of its second quarter. These moves contributed to the company's plummeting stock price, which has fallen almost 50% since the beginning of the year. At the time of writing this article, Warner Bros. Discovery's stock sits at $12.64.

In response to the content purge, Warner Bros. Discovery is offering a 30% discount for HBO Max to new and returning subscribers, though the deal only applies to the streamer's annual plans. Instead of its usual $149.99 price tag, HBO Max's annual plan is now $104.99. An ad-based version is currently $69.99, down from $99.99. These discounts are available until Oct. 30, 2022.

Source: CNBC