Discovery+ subscribers will be able to keep their subscription plan instead of paying more for the forthcoming HBO Max/Discovery+ combined streaming service. Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has confirmed to TechCrunch that it plans to keep the lower-priced Discovery+ plan in the U.S. alongside the new platform, set to launch in spring 2023.
The Wall Street Journal first broke the news of the decision.
The decision means that Discovery+ subscribers won’t be forced to switch to a higher-priced subscription. Discovery+ currently costs $4.99/month for ads and $6.99/month for no ads. HBO Max’s ad-supported plan is $9.99/month whereas the ad-free tier is $15.99/month. The company hinted during its earnings call in November that HBO Max’s ad-free plan might get a price hike sometime this year.
It makes sense for the company to keep Discovery+ since there was a risk that subscribers would be unwilling to pay the higher cost for HBO Max content that they