Discovery+ raises price for ad-free subscriptions

By Phil Nickinson October 3, 2023

HBO Max and Discovery+ app icons. — Phil Nickinson / Digital Trends

The Discovery+ streaming service survived the mega-merger that birthed Warner Bros. Discovery, and also still exists following the launch of the combined Max service. But we might well see more folks make the switch now that Discovery+ has announced a pricing increase.

The “ad-lite” option — that’s the one that has advertising in the on-demand content — will remain unchanged in the U.S. But if you want to get rid of ads, you’ll have to pay $9 a month going forward, up from $7 a month. (That’s just about a 29% increase if you do the math.)

Canada also is seeing that same ad-free price increase, from $7 to $9 Canadian. The ad-lite option also is going up a buck (or one loonie) to $6 Canadian a month.

The press email from Warner Bros. Discovery says that existing customers will see the increase on their next billing cycle, or by November 2. (Whichever comes first, really.) The emailed noted that this is the first price increase Discovery+ has levied in the U.S. and Canada since it launched in January 2021.

As for why Discovery+ is getting more expensive? The same reason as always, no doubt. Though the official answer is that “This will allow us to continue to provide can’t-miss stories in the food, home, relationships, true crime, paranormal genres — plus so much more.”

So get ready for another price increase if you want to get the best of HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Animal Planet, Lifetime, and more. Or if you still want to kick the tires, just remember that there’s a Discovery+ free trial.

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