Warner Bros. Discovery may be planning a significant increase in Max subscriptions in the US, Bloomberg reported. According to the news agency, the change is part of a decision to cut costs at the company, a measure that comes to contain the financial crisis that began last year after the actors and screenwriters strike.
What do you need to know:
- Currently, Max costs US$16 per month in the US — the cheapest plan with advertising costs US$9.99;
- Warner is expected to announce news on the topic this Thursday (9), when it will release its financial results for the first quarter of 2024;
- If the price increase is confirmed, this will be the studio’s second change to Max’s monthly fee in just over a year — the last change occurred in early 2023;
- The increase in tuition would help reach the target of US$1 billion in profit for 2025;
- As part of the cost-cutting plan, a new wave of layoffs may also be on the way — the company laid off more than 2,000 employees in 2023;
- There is no information on whether the increase in value will reach other markets, such as Brazil.
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Warner entered a heavy overhaul in 2022 when it announced the merger with Discovery (changing HBO Max streaming to Max only). With the entry of David Zazlav as CEO, a cost-cutting strategy was implemented, as the company had debts of more than US$50 billion.
As a result, projects were cancelled, as well as programs and films shelved — this was the case of Coyote vs. Acme. The strategy of subscription levels with ads was also adopted to boost revenue via advertising and plans to buy Paramount Global, which remains for sale, were discarded.
According to Bloomberg, despite criticism of the new CEO and his drastic changes, Zazlav has already managed to reduce WBD’s debt load by around US$10 billion. On the other hand, as reported by Variety, the director received a 26.5% increase in his salary, which is now almost US$50 million.
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