David Zaslav Says HBO Max Isn’t Charging Enough: ““We Think We’re Way Underpriced”
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav says television is not an easy experience for viewers these days. Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference, Zaslav called TV “a terrible consumer experience” because of too many platforms and choices.
“When people turn on — the consumers put on their TV, it’s a terrible consumer experience. In almost every market in the world, there’s just way too many choices. And you’re googling, ‘Where is it? How do I get from one to the other? How do I get into that platform?’”
Despite the crowded market, Zaslav says HBO Max has a chance to grow around the world. He predicts that next year, the streaming service will be available in more than 150 million homes, putting it alongside Amazon, Netflix, Disney, and YouTube in the global streaming wars.
Zaslav also said that HBO Max is “way underpriced” and hinted that prices will rise over time. “The fact that this is quality — and that’s true across our company, motion picture, TV production and streaming quality — we all think that gives us a chance to raise price. We think we’re way underpriced. We’re going to take our time,” he explained.
Password sharing is another issue Zaslav plans to address. While he hasn’t cracked down fully yet, he said the company will begin to push against it once more users fall in love with HBO Max content.
“People are really starting to love HBO Max. That’s the key. We want them to fall in love with our content, with our series, with the differentiated offering outside of the U.S. It’s all tricky with the password sharing. We’re going to begin to push on that,” he added.
Warner Bros. Discovery is also preparing to split into two companies by April 2026. After the split, Zaslav will lead the new Warner Bros., which will include Warner Bros. film and TV studios, DC Studios, HBO, HBO Max, and the TCM cable channel. Gunnar Wiedenfels, the current CFO, will lead the new Discovery company, which will include Turner channels, international TV, and Discovery+.
This new setup will leave Wiedenfels’ company with most of the existing debt from Warner Bros. Discovery.
Over the years, HBO Max and its successor Max have seen several price changes. When it launched, the ad-free plan was $14.99, while the ad-supported plan cost $9.99. In January 2023, the ad-free plan increased by $1 to $15.99. A few months later, Max introduced a new Ultimate plan at $19.99 with more features like extra downloads, 4K streaming, and four concurrent streams. The ad-free plan stayed at $15.99 but lost 4K streaming and reduced the number of streams from three to two.
In June 2024, the ad-free plan rose another $1 to $16.99, and the Ultimate plan went up to $20.99. The ad-supported plan stayed at $9.99, though CNN Max and B/R Sports were removed from the basic tier.
Max also started cracking down on password sharing, giving users the option to add extra members through direct subscriptions.
Zaslav’s comments suggest that Warner Bros. Discovery plans to continue building HBO Max as a premium service while adjusting prices to reflect the value of its content.
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