Yesterday (June 4), HBO’s streaming service Max shocked with an immediate subscription increase across all of its ad-free tiers, which has sparked outrage from fans on social media with many arguing that the higher price isn’t justified, due to a lack of original content.
This news has not gone down well with customers – and comes after similar subscriber criticisms such as Netflix’s decision to remove its Basic tier and Spotify’s recent price hike, both of which are unwelcome changes to people’s subscription packages.
The increase comes ahead of the House of the Dragon season two premiere, a hotly anticipated return that is expected to bring in plenty of viewers. But recent changes could mean people won’t be watching the series on demand.
I see that @StreamOnMax is raising it's price just as House of Dragons 2 is being released. I really hope they understand I'm cancelling immediately after this show airs. The streaming services have gotten OUT OF CONTROL.June 4, 2024
Why are people leaving Max?
One angry customer tweeted that they’d be cancelling their subscription as a result of the hike, deciding to leave before the extra charge would hit their accounts during their next billing cycle.
“Canceling my subscription for Max, you guys just did a price hike, and now you're doing another one??? While also removing a lot of content and less streams per user??? How is that an effective business strategy?,” they wrote.
Another noted that the recent cancellation of the hit series Our Flag Means Death had sparked their decision to leave Max, with plenty of others criticising the streaming service for not giving people enough content to justify the price increase.
Ummm @StreamOnMax first cancels my favorite show (@OurFlagOnMax) for no reason and now is raising the subscription price???? lol byeeeee cancelling now 👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻 #saveOFMD #DontStreamOnMaxJune 4, 2024
Another claimed that it’ll be more cost effective to ditch the best streaming services and bring back cable, noting that there have been a number of similar price hikes recently from the likes of Peacock, for instance.
If @StreamOnMax keeps raising their prices their going to start losing subscribers. With all these price hikes from streaming services, it's almost more cost efficient to reconnect that "cable" we all cut. #pricehikes #streamingJune 4, 2024
This is the second time Max has raised prices for its ad-free tiers since its launch. In 2023, the streamer raised the ad-free tier price from $14.99 to $15.99 a month, saying it would “allow it to invest in its content and user experience”.
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- Max frights and delights by bringing back Pennywise actor for the It prequel show, and renewing award-winning comedy hit Hacks for season 4
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