Max Silently Updates its Help Page, Increases Commercial Breaks Doubling the Amount of Ads

Max, the streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, has quietly started showing more ads to its viewers. Without any big announcement, the company updated its help page to say that users on the “Basic with Ads” plan will now see up to six minutes of ads for every hour of video. That’s a 50% increase from the four-minute ad limit that was listed earlier this year, according to the Wayback Machine.

When HBO Max (now just called Max) first launched its cheaper, ad-supported tier in 2021, it made a big promise to limit ads and keep them away from HBO original shows. That no longer seems to be the case. Some viewers have reported seeing ad breaks during episodes of HBO content like The Last of Us, along with ads at the beginning of the stream.

And Max isn’t the only service doing this. A recent report from AdWeek said that Amazon has also increased the number of ads shown on Prime Video. Other platforms like Disney+, Hulu, Discovery+, Peacock, and Netflix have also been pushing more ads into their shows over the last couple of years.

But Max is standing out for how clearly it went back on its word. At one point, the company claimed it had “a commitment to the lowest commercial ad load in the streaming industry.” Now, it’s closer to the top of the list when it comes to how many ads you see.

This isn’t a new trend. Many streaming platforms begin by saying they want to keep ad time short. But that doesn’t seem to last. Back in 2008, Hulu’s CEO Jason Kilar told The New York Times that fewer ads made them more effective. “The notion that less is more is absolutely playing out on Hulu,” he said. At the time, the service was showing just one ad during each break.

That changed quickly. By 2010, Hulu was showing more ads, and by 2023, the platform was averaging over seven minutes of commercials per hour—more than any other major streamer, according to data from MediaRadar shared with Insider.

Other services have taken a similar path. When Disney+ launched its ad-supported version in 2022, it said users would only see about four minutes of ads per hour. But less than a year later, that number went up to more than five minutes, based on the same MediaRadar data.

Amazon joined the ad game in 2023 and told advertisers it would show between two and 3.5 minutes of ads every hour, The Wall Street Journal reported. Now, AdWeek says Prime Video is showing four to six minutes instead.

Of course, regular cable TV still has the most ads. Data from Wurl shows that traditional TV has around 15 to 18 minutes of commercials every hour. Even free streaming services, like Pluto TV and Tubi, run about nine minutes of ads per hour. But the increase in ad time on paid streaming platforms is making some subscribers question whether they’re really getting their money’s worth.

As fewer people watch traditional TV, it’s clear streaming services are trying to make up the difference by adding more ads. And just like the rising prices of monthly subscriptions, the time spent watching ads seems to be going up too.

Honestly, it’s disappointing to see streamers break their promises like this. People signed up for these services with certain expectations, especially when it comes to ad time. It’s one thing to raise prices, but it’s another to sneak in more ads without warning. What do you think about all this? Are you okay with more ads if it keeps subscription costs lower, or does this cross a line for you? Share your thoughts in the comments below.