Here Are The Changes Coming To Streaming In 2023

Topline

HBO Max announced Thursday it is raising its subscription prices for the first time since it launched in 2020, following price hikes from competitors Hulu and Apple TV+, as more changes are expected to come to popular streaming services this year.

Key Facts

Effective Thursday, the monthly cost of an HBO Max subscription increased $1 to $15.99, and subscribers will see this in their next billing cycle.

The change comes after WarnerBros. Discovery, which owns HBO and HBO Max, has canceled a string of beloved programs, like Westworld, and removed shows like Looney Tunes and the Flintstones in cost-cutting moves.

In October, AppleTV+ announced the monthly cost of its subscription was raising by $2 to $6.99.

That same month, Hulu raised the cost of its basic monthly subscription, with ads, by $1 to $7.99.

Later this year, HBO Max and Discovery+ will launch their combined streaming service–which will reportedly be called Max, and will have a free, ad-based tier, similar to the cheaper tiers that launched at Netflix and Disney+ late last year.

Netflix is rumored to begin charging customers who share their account with people outside their households sometime this year, a program it tested last year in some Latin American countries.

Big Number

$13.30. That’s how much the Warner Bros. Discovery stock was trading for on Thursday, and it did not appear to be affected by the subscription cost hike. After a tumultuous 2022, Netflix ended the year with surging increases, and was trading Thursday around $331. Disney, which owns Hulu, saw its stock price plummet last year, and is trading around $99, including a small bump on Thursday.

Key Background

Facing steep competition, both Netflix and Disney+ launched cheaper, ad-supported tiers in the last months of the year. However, Digiday reported that Netflix was falling short of the viewership expectations it had promised advertisers. A Netflix spokesperson told Forbes it was “pleased with the successful launch and the member engagement on the Basic with Ads plan.” Netflix reported losses for the first time in 10 years at the start of 2022, which ultimately amounted to over 1 million, before it bounced back later in the year. The company believed some of its losses were related to password and account sharing. Since Warner Media and Discovery’s merger last year, major re-toolings and changes have come to subsidiaries CNN like HBO, including layoffs.

Further Reading

Why Streaming Services Drop Your Favorite Shows—From ‘Westworld’ To The ‘The Office’— And Where To Find Them Now (Forbes)

Netflix Adds 2.4 Million Subscribers After Months Of Declines (Forbes)

Netflix Shares Dip As First Month Of Ad-Supported Subscription Reportedly Disappoints (Forbes)