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The ad-free tier now costs $15.99 monthly.

Despite controversies surrounding the cancellation and removal of popular shows, streaming service HBO Max still maintains a fairly healthy userbase. However, as Warner Bros. Discovery continues its aggressive restructuring of the service and its offerings, more controversial decisions are gradually piling up. The latest decision is the platform’s very first price hike.

Effective immediately, HBO Max will be raising the price of its ad-free membership tier from $14.99 a month to $15.99 a month. Any new subscribers will need to pay this new rate going forward, while current subscribers will see their rates increase on their next billing cycle on or after February 11.

“This price increase of one dollar will allow us to continue to invest in providing even more culture-defining programming and improving our customer experience for all users,” the company said in a statement.

Starting today, HBO Max will now cost $16/month for the ad-free plan, an increase of $1 per month from the previous $15/month cost. This is HBO Max's first monthly price hike since the service launched in May 2020. pic.twitter.com/WCK6nUSsqq

— GameSpot (@GameSpot) January 12, 2023

Back in November, JB Perrette, president and CEO of global streaming and games at WBD, told investors that the time was fast approaching to enact a price hike. He said that by 2023, “it will have been three years since pricing has moved, which we think is an opportunity, particularly in this environment… We believe there’s actually some pricing advantage for us on the ad-free [HBO Max] service and we can probably move north of where the prices are today.”