HBO Max Announces New $9.99 Ad-Supported Tier That's Launching in June

The HBO Max streaming service is gaining a new ad-supported tier that will be priced at $9.99 per month, which is $5 cheaper than the $14.99 price point of a standard HBO Max subscription.

hbomax1
News of a cheaper ad-supported HBO Max tier first circulated in March, and the new pricing was officially announced at a WarnerMedia event. The $9.99 tier will be available starting the first week of June.

HBO Max will feature the "lightest ad load in the streaming industry" for its ad-supported tier. It will include access to HBO's original programming plus the back catalog of content from HBO, Warner Bros., DC, Turner Classic Movies, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, and more.

Not included is access to same-day premiere film releases from Warner Bros., a feature that will require a full $14.99 subscription.

The ad-supported tier will feature limited commercials, and in the future, pause ads that show up when a show is paused, and branded discovery, which will see ads shown in the content discovery process.

Tag: HBO Max

Popular Stories

Apple Logo Spotlight

Report: Apple to Launch These New Products in 2026

Sunday November 2, 2025 5:34 am PST by
Apple is planning to launch at least 15 new products in 2026, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman outlined what to expect from Apple in 2026 in the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter. He said the company is heading "into one of its most pivotal years in recent memory," with the rollout of major new Apple Intelligence features, intense regulatory pressure on the App Store,...
ios 26 1 slide to stop

iOS 26.1 Brings Back 2007 Feature in New Way

Friday October 31, 2025 1:40 pm PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a small but helpful change for iPhones, and it could prevent you from running late to something important. Specifically, when an alarm goes off in the Clock app, there is a new "slide to stop" control on the screen for turning off the alarm. On previous iOS 26 versions, there is simply a large "stop" button, which could be accidentally tapped. The new ...
Apple Intelligence General Feature 2

New Version of Siri to 'Lean' on Google Gemini

Sunday November 2, 2025 6:06 am PST by
In his "Power On" newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today provided an update on the status of Apple Intelligence and the plans for it in 2026. Apple is still planning to roll out its revamped version of Siri around March of next year. The release should be accompanied by the release of a new smart home display product with speaker-base and wall-mount options. A new Apple TV and HomePod...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

New Apple TV and HomePod Mini Likely Launching Soon

Sunday November 2, 2025 5:49 am PST by
A new Apple TV and HomePod mini could launch as soon as this month, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today suggested. In today's "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple retail stores are planning an overnight refresh on the evening of November 11, where changes will be made after closing, such as refreshing displays and placing new products for the following day. The timing of the overnight...
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.1 With Liquid Glass Toggle, Slide to Stop Alarm, New Apple Intelligence Languages and More

Monday November 3, 2025 1:11 pm PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.1, the first major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.1 comes over a month after iOS 26 launched. ‌iOS 26‌.1 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings > General >...
Apple Foldable Thumb

iPhone Fold: Launch, Pricing, and What to Expect From Apple's Foldable

Friday October 31, 2025 8:52 am PDT by
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device. Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that have been leaked about Apple's foldable iPhone so far. Ove...
Early Black Friday Deals 2

The Best Early Black Friday Apple Deals

Sunday November 2, 2025 10:04 am PST by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
M5 MacBook Pro

Waiting for New Macs? Apple Just Shared Bad News

Friday October 31, 2025 7:32 am PDT by
Apple has just given a strong indication that it will not be releasing any additional new Macs for the remainder of the year. Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh dropped the hint during the company's earnings call on Thursday:On Mac, keep in mind, we expect to face a very difficult compare against the M4 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac launches in the year-ago quarter.Parekh essentially gave a heads up ...

Top Rated Comments

vagos Avatar
58 months ago
So you both pay and watch ads? The worst of both worlds.
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
adamjackson Avatar
58 months ago
There are some people in the world who are:

A) Price sensitive and can't afford more than $10 a month for a streaming service
B) Don't care about advertisements

I'm not one of those people. I have never accepted any service with ads that doesn't allow me to pay more to remove them. In fact, when, as a YouTube Red subscribe, a video has a product placement, I unsubscribe from the channel and don't come back.

My girlfriend spends an hour every day playing a game for 6 months now that is 99 cents to disable advertisements. I watch her sit through 10 second ads a few times a day for months. it's driving me insane. Why doesn't she just spend the dollar?!?!? Actually, I'm going to Apple Pay Cash her a dollar now and ask her to spend it on ad-free.

Hint MR Editors, if you offered an ad-free RSS feed, I'd pay for it (i.e. no promotions/giveaways/deals)

EDIT: and for your information, NO I am not fun at parties nor am I ever invited to any.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Scipster Avatar
58 months ago
Or you can get high quality content from Apple TV+ for only $4.99/month. Ad free. Same price since launch. Highly recommend.

But yeah, pay for ads? I don't think so. Free with ads, maybe.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bgalakazam Avatar
58 months ago
So going full circle on how cable started. Paid but with no ads to gradually be paid with a ton of ads...
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
prizm Avatar
58 months ago

If I was 100% invested in HBO’s content then I would pay full price. Because I’m paying several streaming services and I watch a little of all of them, the ad tier makes sense for me. I don’t mind a few ads.
The key to your statement is "a few ads". The Hulu tier with ads is almost unwatchable. The same ads, over and over again. Awful.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
fwmireault Avatar
58 months ago

Or you can get high quality content from Apple TV+ for only $4.99/month. Ad free. Same price since launch. Highly recommend.

But yeah, pay for ads? I don't think so. Free with ads, maybe.
I do have an Apple TV+ subscription and I watch many of its shows. Many of them are great. But we can’t compare apples (lol) and oranges. Netflix, HBO, Disney have way more shows and movies to give in their subscription than Apple. It will take a few years to get there.

But yeah. Having to pay for a subscription and still having ads is bad.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)