HBO Max Bundle Prices Going Up by $3 on Oct. 21

Less than two weeks after Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said HBO Max was “way underpriced,” the streamer announced its bundle prices are going up. The Disney+ Hulu HBO Max bundle with ads will go from $16.99 to $19.99 and the ad-free trio will go from $29.99 to $32.99/month.

These price changes are confirmed on Hulu’s official pricing page.

Price hikes are nothing new in the streaming world. You have to expect them every few years. But HBO Max is the rare provider that’s asking more money for less content.

HBO Max lost its access to the NBA on TNT. All of those games will go to Prime Video and Peacock.

The service completely gutted its children’s section. Nearly all its animation has vanished aside from a handful of Cartoon Network shows. The departure was so aggressive, there are parts of the HBO Max interface that don’t even work. If you try to click on their navigation by character area, the button for the Jetsons’ robot maid Rosie does nothing because you can’t watch “The Jetsons” on HBO Max anymore.

Sometime next year, Warner Bros. Discovery will split into two separate companies. When that happens, there’s a decent possibility HBO Max may lose access to the shows from HGTV, CNN, Cartoon Network, Food Network, and the sports from TNT or TBS. After all, the new company is planning its own TNT Sports streamer. The new Warner Bros. will still have international TNT sports rights, but that new spinoff company will begin its life saddled with debt, and they might find a higher bidder for their portfolio in Peacock, Prime Video, or Netflix.

Look, I love HBO Max because of its library. And it’s still cranking out great originals like “The Pitt.” Warner Bros. has been on an absolute tear this year with movies like “Sinners,” “Superman,” and “Weapons.” But there’s no doubt the HBO Max library is shrinking. And as great as the library is, it may be worth skipping a few months and binging everything 2-3 times a year. There’s just not enough volume to require 12 months of the subscription.