Feed: Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
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Title: HBO Max is going to get a lot more expensive, CEO promises

Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2025 22:16:57 +0000
Link: https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/stream...

David Zaslav, the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, plans to make HBO more
expensive, and passwords a lot harder to share, according to The Hollywood
Reporter. Zaslav shared his general outlook on the state of television at the
Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference, with the main theme being
that HBO Max's content is good and Zaslav thinks he should be charging a lot
more for it.

"The fact that this is quality ΓÇö and thatΓÇÖs true across our company,
motion picture, TV production and streaming quality ΓÇö we all think that
gives us a chance to raise prices," Zaslav said. "We think weΓÇÖre way
underpriced." HBO Max most recently raised prices in 2024, back when it was
temporarily called Max. As of right now you can get an entry-level Basic with
Ads plan for $9.99 per month, while the ad-free Premium plan costs $20.99 per
month. Zaslav clearly thinks he can get more, though.

Warner Bros. Discovery has been more open about its plans to address password-
sharing. During an earnings call in August, the company said it wanted to
close all loopholes for sharing passwords by the end of the year. While it's
great that people continue to be drawn to HBO content, "itΓÇÖs all tricky
with the password sharing," Zaslav said. "WeΓÇÖre going to begin to push on
that."

Price hikes and password sharing crackdowns have been thoroughly normalized
by Netflix and other streamers. HBO Max following suit should be more than
expected. Stating those plans so plainly doesn't improve the image of Zaslav
as a Hollywood villain, but that's the least of his worries given the planned
break-up of Warner Bros. Discovery.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at
https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/stream...
lot-more-expensive-ceo-promises-221656560.html?src=rss

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