Skydance has raised the monthly price of Discovery+, increasing the cost of both subscription options as the newly expanded public company begins its second week following the merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery.
The streaming service’s ad-supported plan now costs $6.99 per month, a $1 increase. Discovery+’s higher-priced “ad-light” tier has climbed by $2 to $11.99 per month.
The increases affect Discovery+ as a stand-alone service, a position it has maintained since launching in 2021. Its programming spans cable brands including TLC, Discovery, HGTV and the Food Network.
Discovery+ Has Moved Well Beyond Its Launch Prices
At launch, Discovery+ offered 50,000 hours of programming and charged $4.99 per month for its base subscription. The option with fewer advertisements originally cost $6.99.
That means the current entry-level price is now the same as the original price of the higher tier. The ad-light subscription, meanwhile, has risen from its initial $6.99 rate to $11.99.
The latest adjustments arrive shortly after the merger creating Skydance officially closed last week. The combined company carries nearly $80 billion in debt and has pledged to reduce that burden while also delivering $6 billion in cost savings.
Its plans include back-end efficiencies, real estate sales and layoffs. Higher streaming prices are also expected as media companies contend with broader inflation across the sector.
Why Discovery+ Remains Separate
The service’s future as an independent streaming destination had previously been reconsidered. After Discovery Communications and WarnerMedia merged in 2022, the resulting parent company explored combining Discovery+ with HBO Max.
HBO Max was subsequently renamed Max to signal a wider content selection. However, audiences and partners objected to placing HBO’s higher-end programming alongside Discovery’s lifestyle and unscripted offerings. Corporate leadership ultimately retained Discovery+ as a lower-priced choice for viewers.
Discovery+ has also been profitable for most of its existence, partly because the company does not commission original programming specifically for the service.
The new prices narrow some of the distance between Discovery+ and HBO Max. HBO Max announced its own increases last fall, taking its basic ad-supported plan up by $1 to $10.99 per month. Its Standard subscription rose to $18.49 per month.
At $6.99, Discovery+’s base tier remains below HBO Max’s $10.99 ad-supported option. But Discovery+’s $11.99 ad-light tier now costs more than HBO Max’s basic ad plan, even though HBO Max’s Standard package remains substantially higher.
ShowBiz Take
This is more than a routine adjustment for a niche streaming service. It is one of the early consumer-facing moves from a newly merged Skydance confronting a substantial debt load and an ambitious savings target.
Discovery+ has endured as a separate service because it offered a distinct, lower-priced home for lifestyle and unscripted programming. The new rates do not erase that distinction, but they do change the value calculation—particularly for customers choosing the ad-light plan.
The service’s history also makes the decision notable. Discovery+ survived an earlier effort to fold its programming into a broader HBO Max offering, while its lack of commissioned originals helped it remain profitable for much of its run. Raising prices allows Skydance to seek more revenue from an established stand-alone platform without changing the programming strategy described for the service.
What Happens Next?
Skydance is now tasked with pursuing its promised $6 billion in savings while working to reduce nearly $80 billion in debt. With further streaming-rate pressure expected across the media business, the Discovery+ increases provide an early indication that subscription pricing will be part of the company’s broader financial approach.