Discovery Plus raises monthly subscription prices across both plans
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Discovery Plus is raising the monthly price of both subscription plans, with the new rates applying immediately to new customers. The increase follows Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery and comes as the combined company plans to merge Paramount Plus and HBO Max over time, leaving Discovery Plus’s future as a standalone service unclear.
The ad-supported plan is rising from $5.99 to $6.99 a month, while the ad-free plan is increasing from $9.99 to $11.99. Existing subscribers will pay the higher prices from their next billing statement on or after 12 November; the previous increase was in January 2025. Discovery Plus carries programmes from networks including TLC, HGTV and Food Network, and some of its shows are also available on HBO Max.
- Both Discovery Plus plans are getting more expensive.
- The ad-free tier rises by $2 a month.
- The service’s future standalone status is unclear.
New here? Start with this
Discovery Plus is a video streaming service providing films and television programmes to subscribers. It has been owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, one of the world's largest entertainment companies.
Paramount, another major entertainment conglomerate, recently completed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. This means Paramount now controls not only Discovery Plus but also Paramount Plus and HBO Max, giving it significant influence over the streaming market.
The acquisition has created uncertainty about how these streaming services will be organised going forward. Paramount has publicly stated plans to combine some of its streaming platforms over time, which provides important context for understanding business decisions affecting Discovery Plus and related services.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Streaming services have established a pattern of regular price increases that steadily erode the value proposition drawing consumers to the platform. Combined with the broader trend of media consolidation and uncertainty about Discovery Plus's future as an independent service, these increases feel particularly tone-deaf and represent another incremental assault on consumer choice and affordability in an already fragmented and costly streaming landscape.
The case against
These are modest, inflation-appropriate increases that maintain the ad-supported tier at genuine affordability compared to competing services. Companies must sustain profitability to fund the content consumers demand, and consolidation within the sector can generate operational efficiencies and improved service integration rather than harm consumers if executed thoughtfully.
Full account
Discovery Plus has raised the monthly prices of both its subscription plans. The ad-supported tier has gone up by $1 to $6.99, while the plan with fewer adverts has risen by $2 to $11.99. The new rates apply immediately to new customers; existing subscribers will pay them from their next billing statement on or after 12 November.
The increase comes shortly after Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery completed their merger, creating Skydance. The combined company has said it intends to bring Paramount Plus and HBO Max together in a single service over time. Discovery Plus’s future as a separate subscription service remains uncertain, though it continues to offer programming from channels including TLC, Discovery, HGTV and Food Network.
Discovery Plus launched in 2021 and has remained a standalone, lower-priced option, even as its parent considered combining its catalogue with HBO Max. Some of its programmes, including 90 Day Fiancé and Deadliest Catch, are also available through HBO Max. The service last increased its prices in January 2025, according to one report; the other traces its original monthly prices to $4.99 for the ad-supported plan and $6.99 for the plan with fewer adverts.
The timing has drawn attention because Skydance is taking on substantial debt and has promised cost savings. One report presents higher streaming prices as part of a wider pattern of increases across the media sector, while also noting that the Discovery Plus change was already being implemented before the merger closed, given the advance notice required for subscribers. The price rise therefore coincides with the new company’s first days, but the reports do not establish that the merger caused it.
Where outlets differ
One report says Discovery Plus last raised prices in January 2025; the other gives its original launch prices and describes its history, but does not state when the previous increase occurred.
The first report describes the upper plan as ad-free; the second calls it “ad-light” or a plan with fewer adverts.
The first focuses on the new prices, billing timing and uncertainty over Discovery Plus’s future. The second gives more attention to Skydance’s debt and cost-cutting commitments, the service’s history and the possibility that the planned increase was already in motion before the merger closed.
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Originally published by The Verge as “Discovery Plus is getting more expensive”.