Discovery+ Raises Prices Following Skydance Merger

One week after the merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery officially closed to form Skydance, the new company has raised prices for its stand-alone streaming service, Discovery+. The base-level, ad-supported tier now costs $6.99 a month, an increase of $1. The “ad-light” higher tier is now $11.99, a $2 increase.

Pricing Changes and Implementation

The price changes go into effect on Tuesday for new customers. Existing subscribers will have a 30-day window before their next pay period. TheWrap notes that this pricing update was likely in the process of being implemented prior to Skydance taking over, due to logistics.

Discovery+ features programming from a range of cable networks, including TLC, Discovery, HGTV, the Food Network, ID, Animal Planet, and the Magnolia Network. Specific shows available on the service include the “90 Day Fiancé” franchise, “Sister Wives,” “Ghost Adventures,” “Expedition Unknown,” and “Deadliest Catch.”

Merger Context and Debt

Skydance was formed from the merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, which officially closed last week. TheWrap reports the merger value at $110 billion. Deadline reports that the new company is saddled with nearly $80 billion in debt and has pledged to reduce this debt while delivering $6 billion in cost savings. These savings are expected to come from back-end efficiencies, real estate sales, layoffs, and higher streaming rates.

The new Skydance Corporation is also home to Paramount+, HBO Max, and Pluto TV. The Direct-to-Consumer division is led by HBO’s Casey Bloys as chief content officer and WBD’s JB Perrette as chief business officer. In a statement last week announcing the closing of its merger, Skydance noted: "Consumers can expect greater innovation from a company built with technology at its core, including significant improvements to its direct-to-consumer streaming products, which will unify into a single service over time."

Historical Pricing and Service Status

Discovery+ has remained a stand-alone service since its launch. Deadline states the service launched in 2021, while TheWrap states it launched in March 2020. Initially, the base tier was priced at $4.99 and the plan with fewer ads at $6.99, offering 50,000 hours of programming.

After former parent Discovery Communications merged with WarnerMedia in 2022, the new parent company considered combining Discovery+ with HBO Max. This led to the rebranding of HBO Max as Max to reflect a broader content offering. However, audiences and partners balked at the mixture of upmarket HBO fare with lifestyle and unscripted fare. Consequently, corporate bosses preserved Discovery+ as a lower-priced option for consumers. Deadline notes that because the company does not commission originals for Discovery+, it has been profitable for most of its existence.

Why it matters

The price increases signal the immediate financial pressures facing Skydance as it attempts to manage significant debt and achieve cost savings following the merger. The decision to keep Discovery+ as a separate, lower-priced entity despite previous attempts to merge it with HBO Max highlights the ongoing challenge of balancing distinct brand identities within a consolidated media portfolio.

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Sources

• deadline.com: Discovery+ Raising Prices After Skydance Merger
• thewrap.com: Discovery+ Raises Prices One Week After Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger
• sg.finance.yahoo.com: Discovery+ Raises Prices One Week After Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger Closes

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.