HBO Max ‘way underpriced,’ but not for long says Warner Bros CEO

Streaming services have gotten very expensive over time, but despite already being right in line with other streaming options, the CEO of Warner Bros. says that HBO Max is “underpriced,” but that it won’t stay that long forever.

HBO Max – the service formerly known as Max and, before that, HBO Max – currently costs $9.99/month for its base tier with ads, $16.99/month without ads, and $20.99/month for its highest tier. But according to David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, that’s not high enough.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Zaslav says that HBO Max is “way underpriced,” giving the platform a chance to raise prices with time.

The fact that this is quality — and that’s true across our company, motion picture, TV production and and streaming quality — we all we think that gives us a chance to raise price. We think we’re way underpriced. We’re going to take our time.

For context, let’s look at the standard HBO Max tier without ads which, as mentioned, costs $16.99/month in the US, compared to other major streaming platforms:

• HBO Max (Standard, no ads): $16.99/month
• Netflix (Standard, no ads): $17.99/month
• Disney+ (No ads): $15.99/month
• Peacock (Premium Plus, no ads): $16.99/month
• Paramount+ (Premium, no ads): $12.99/month

As it stands, HBO Max is right there with the rest of the market, so it’s unclear why Zaslav thinks it is “way underpriced.”

Beyond that, Zaslav also hints that password-sharing restrictions are on the way, but only after users “fall in love with our content.”

We haven’t been pushing on the password sharing and the economics yet. People are really starting to love HBO Max. That’s the key. We want them to fall in love with our content, with our series, with the differentiated offering outside of the U.S. It’s all tricky with the password sharing. We’re going to begin to push on that.

What do you think of HBO Max? Would you pay more for it?

More on Streaming:

• Max is turning back into ‘HBO Max’ to be ‘amplify the uniqueness’
• Google TV now has over 200 free channels – here’s the full list
• Hulu and Disney+ will become a single app in 2026, new ESPN app this month

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