HBO Max cut a lot of shows and now raising price

https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/hbo-max-announces-price-increase-1235487428/

The price hike comes as Warner Bros. Discovery, formed by Discovery’s 2022 acquisition of WarnerMedia, has made a series of content cutbacks aimed at reducing expenses. Among those: HBO Max expunged multiple exclusive film titles and original series and 200 older “Sesame Street” episodes, and also canceled HBO Max original series “Minx” (reversing the Season 2 renewal) and HBO’s “The Nevers.” HBO Max also removed 256 classic “Looney Tunes” shorts and three seasons of “The Flintstones.” In addition, last month the company announced plans to remove several shows from HBO Max — including “Westworld,” “The Nevers,” “Raised by Wolves,” “FBoy Island,” “Legendary,” “Finding Magic Mike,” “Head of the Class” and “The Time Traveler’s Wife” — in order to license them to third-party free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) partners.


The transition from ads to ad-free is around $3-7 difference.