To everyone who thought Netflix feeling the first sting of a subscriber loss would be the biggest streaming story of 2022, Warner Bros Discovery stepped up with a resounding “Hold my beer!” and has made all manner of unexpected decisions regarding HBO Max’s current and formerly upcoming original content. Following the shelving of the diversity-driven superhero flick Batgirl, the excision of a slew of acclaimed animated and unscripted series, and an onslaught of worries about other fan-favorite series, HBO Max has broken through the darkness with a shining beacon of light in the form of a surprisingly steep discount that both new and existing subscribers can take advantage of.
HBO Max’s latest offer, which can be found here and will be valid all the way through October 30, 2022, will save potential and current subscribers 30% or more off the service’s usual price, albeit with one basic stipulation. This deal specifically concerns new agreements for pre-paid annual subscriptions, and doesn’t apply for customers who are only interested in month-by-month plans, with that major discount happening earlier this year.
Those aiming to nab 12 months of HBO Max’s Ad Free plan are looking at a one-time payment of $104.99, as compared to the standard annual rate of $149.99, which is right around a 30% drop. (Those $45 in savings can go to buying whatever HBO Max series’ DVDs you can find, just in case.) What’s more, the above discount is a whopping 41.6% off the $179.88 total that customers cough up across twelve monthly payments.
For streaming audiences who don’t mind watching ads during episodes of Hacks and The Big Bang Theory (which absolutely did not get dropped from the content library), HBO Max’s yearly plan will cost $69.99. Matching the same percentages as the Ad-Free version, the discount is $30 off the non-discounted price, and is $49.89 cheaper than paying on a monthly basis.
To be expected, this deal is good only for a single year’s subscription. But that’s still probably a solid and positive bet to take, since next year will bring about a revamped streaming service combining HBO Max and Discovery+, and there’s no doubt more changes will take place between now and then.
While there probably isn’t any HBO Max subscription deal that could properly balance all the erratic moves being made elsewhere, this promotion came at just the right time, which not at all coincidentally happening ahead of House of the Dragon’s premiere weekend on HBO. The Game of Thrones prequel saga, which has already earned wildly varying reactions from critics, could very well be cable’s next saving grace after Yellowstone took up the mantle from Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead.
Despite the current changes happening — which includes a bunch of Sesame Street episodes getting clipped from the streaming service — there are still plenty of reasons to stick with HBO Max going forward. Rewatching The Batman 8 times a day, for one, or for DC fans not into such habits, the promise that the Green Lantern series, James Gunn’s Peacemaker, and more are safe from corporate cutbacks. All those eras of Looney Tunes episodes alone are worth the Ad-Free plan’s price, I’d say.
Check out some of the best movies currently available on HBO Max, and head to our 2022 TV premiere schedule to see all the new and returning shows on the way.
