Previously it was reported that HBO MAX will suffer a price increase when it is combined with Discovery Plus. And it is that the earthquake that shakes Warner Bros. Discovery is getting closer to directly harming users.
Gunnar Wiedenfels, the company’s chief financial officer, reported in the past that the HBO Max and Discovery Plus platforms offer a fairly attractive catalog for a “fundamentally low” cost. In his opinion, both are undervalued, so some adjustment would be necessary.
Now that the company’s results during the third quarter of 2022 were so unfortunate, the price issue has undoubtedly come up again (via). So it’s almost certain that by the time HBO MAX reforms into the new merger with Discovery Plus next March, prices will skyrocket.
According to Warner Discovery broadcast chief JB Perrette, the company sees this increase as “an opportunity, particularly for this environment.” He mentioned that it is a natural move given the growing inflation in the economy and the measures that other platforms have also taken. He is of course referring to Apple TV’s recent price increase in the US. Or that of Netflix in international markets.
He also justifies his price increases for HBO Max by arguing that many viewers weren’t supporters of the ad-supported version. In January 2021, the platform launched its own cheaper version with advertising. This at least in the United States. And according to Perrette, there was not much migration of users to that cheaper version.
“I believe that [eso] It says two things, which are positive for us,” he explained. “First, we think there is actually a price advantage for us in the ad-free service. The other advantage is monetization. Today, we have two to three minutes of commercials on HBO Max ‘ad-light’ version. About half of what we have on Discovery+. So as we launch the new combined products, we have nearly 100% growth in new inventory available to us as we look to combine the ads for those two products.”
Perrette did not elaborate on the new prices. However, his position was quite clear regarding the price increase. It is almost certain that the platform streaming of Warner increases its costs by March 2023.
Furthermore, it is very likely that our country will be one of the most immediate victims. The broadcast boss also talked about international markets and how low they pay for the service. He assured that in other countries they pay “significantly lower than other market leaders. For us, that means an opportunity”, he concluded.
It was during August that Warner Bros Discovery revealed its intentions to merge HBO Max with Discovery Plus. The supposed strategy would be to place the best of two worlds in one place. People who like to see reality shows, magazine documentaries, movies and series on a single platform. It is not yet confirmed if it will also be during the month of March when the Mexican market receives the update.
Luis Angel H Mora My most stable relationship is with movies, parties and music. I love writing about cinema, meeting new people and sharing ideas. Idealistic in every way, I guess that’s my Aquarian Ascendant trait.