In May this year, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) transformed HBO Max into Max in the US. Back then, the company said that people who had subscribed to HBO Max’s ad-free plan (which was priced at $15.99/month) would be able to enjoy streaming videos at 4K resolution on Max for the next six months without upgrading to the Ultimate plan (which is priced at $19.99/month). Well, the six-month period has finally come to an end.
According to The Verge, WBD has started notifying affected people through an e-mail that from December 05, 2023, they will lose access to watch videos in 4K resolution and HDR format. Going forward, they will be limited to streaming videos in HD resolution and non-HDR format. The email also says that if they want to continue enjoying streaming videos in 4K resolution and HDR format, they would have to opt for the Ultimate plan.
While HBO Max offered three concurrent video streams to ad-free users, Max offers only two. So far, WBD has allowed them to enjoy three concurrent video streams on Max. Well, not anymore. The email states that from December 05, 2023, people on the ad-free plan will be able to access only two concurrent streams. If they want extra concurrent streams, they have to upgrade to Ultimate, which offers four concurrent streams.
Subscriptions are getting costlier
Lately, many companies have increased the prices of their subscription plans. In September, Sony hiked the prices of the PlayStation Plus membership. In October, Netflix increased the prices of its streaming plans. The most recent price hike came from Apple, which hiked the prices of TV+, Arcade, and News+. In a world where subscriptions are getting costlier, NASA is launching NASA+, a no-cost and ad-free streaming service.
