The ad-free options for two separate streaming services are reportedly seeing their subscription fees go up for users.
That happened Tuesday for new subscribers of Warner Bros. Discovery-owned Discovery+’s ad-free plan in the U.S. and Canada. For existing users, the change will appear "on their next billing cycle on or after November 2," the company said in a press release.
The price change for the U.S. ad-free Discovery+ plan marks an increase of $2, making it $8.99 per month plus taxes. Canada’s also got a similar increase.
David Zaslav, CEO, Warner Bros. Discovery speaks onstage during the Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront show at Madison Square Garden on May 18, 2022, in New York City. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Discovery / Getty Images)
Discovery+ said the move would "allow us to continue to provide can’t miss-stories in the food, home, relationships, true crime, paranormal genres – plus so much more."
It will meanwhile hold the cost of the ad-lite plans in the U.S. and Canada where they currently stand, according to the release. In the U.S., that option comes with a $4.99 monthly price tag.
Some Discovery content also streams on Max, the platform bringing together Discovery+ and HBO Max programming that Warner Bros. Discovery rolled out earlier in the year.
Across HBO, Max and Discovery+, Warner Bros. Discovery reported it counted 95.8 million subscribers for the second quarter.
Video on demand, TV streaming, multimedia. Hand holding remote control (iStock / iStock)
The other platform where ad-free users are facing a price increase is Netflix, according to the Wall Street Journal. It attributed the details to unnamed sources "familiar with the matter."
Netflix currently has its ad-free Standard subscription set at $15.49 per month for U.S. customers and its ad-free Premium one at $19.99 per month. Depending on if an account holder elected to have extra member slots to share their account with people living outside their household, the price someone pays could potentially be higher on a monthly basis.
The ad-supported Netflix plan first became available in November.
The outlet reported Tuesday on the streaming giant’s ad-free price increase discussions. It could come into effect sometime after the conclusion of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike. The strike has spanned over 2.5 months so far.
Netflix declined to comment to FOX Business.
The U.S. and Canada would probably get an upped price for the tier first, according to the Wall Street Journal. Price hikes of an unknown extent in a few other countries are reportedly also being weighed.
Netflix’s subscribers totalled 238.39 million as of the second quarter, marking an 8% year-over-year lift, the streaming giant revealed in July. The wide implementation of the company’s restrictions on password-sharing happened in that three-month period.
Netflix logos displayed in an illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland, on July 14, 2022. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Other companies have adjusted the positioning of their own streaming services in terms of price over the past year or so, something FOX Business has previously reported on.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the respective stock prices of Warner Bros. Discovery and Netflix experienced decreases from where they started the day. For the former, it has gone down about 1.28%, while the latter saw a 1.66% drop.
They have both seen lifts from the start of the year, however.