Watching movies and series at home has become one of the main leisure activities in recent years. Currently, there are many digital platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime or HBO Maxwhich offer the user a wide range of possibilities. Similarly, HBO Max announced price increase for this July.

HBO isn’t the only platform taking steps to increase its profits. Since February last year Netflix announced a series of measures aimed at ending the use of shared accounts between different households in Spain. A solution that users didn’t like very much.

Many citizens shared their concerns about subscription costs with 50% discount “forever” so many were hired during the promotion period. So, users may wonder: What are the new HBO Max rates after the price increase?

Rates after HBO Max price increase

The HBO Max platform yesterday informed all its users about the increase in rates, which will be applied from the next Friday, July 14, 2023. Thus, the new price of a standard monthly subscription will be €9.99 per month. This is one euro more than users have already paid.

“Climb does not apply to annual subscriptiononly monthly”, fixed the platform in his account Twitter. Subscribers with an annual plan will continue to pay €69.99 per year, which means 5.83 euros per month. But after, what about accounts that enjoy 50% off forever?

How about a 50% “forever” discount?

According to the company, 50% promotion will continue for subscribers who have already taken advantage of the offer. It will apply to the price of new fares as long as they continue to qualify for the promotion.

Thus, users of the “eternal” discount they will pay 4.99 euros per month instead of 4.49, which they already paid before. This assumes only a difference of 50 cents that they will have to pay.

As HBO Max explains, the increase in subscription costs is due to “an increase acquisition costs, content creation and product development to enable us to continue to invest in the quality content and product experience we strive to provide to our customers.”

X-ray of digital platforms in Spain

The audiovisual market has undergone many changes in recent years. Spanish productions stand out in particular, whose peak has broken not only national but also international records. Some examples: antevias, starring José Coronado; and La chica de nieve, the film adaptation of Javier Castillo’s novel, is breaking records.

However, despite Netflix having some of the most watched Spanish series in the three months of the first quarter of 2023, the number of subscribers has plummeted. loss of a million users over this period.

Besides, skyshowtime It stands out on the radiograph of platform consumption in Spain with strong market growth since its launch in February. Among his most notable productions is the Bose series, a biopic about Miguel Bose. The platform followed the HBO Max launch model with a perpetual 50% discount for new subscribers.

Amazon Prime is another company that stands out in terms of the number of new subscribers. According to FlixPatrol, the platform 200 million people subscribed in September 2022. In addition, it has become the second most subscribed platform in the world, although its dominance extends to several countries.

Free Alternatives to Audiovisual Content

While subscriptions to digital platforms have become common practice, this has not always been the case. Just over a decade ago, users could watch series or movies via torrent download or directly from web pages. So what are the free alternatives to paid digital platforms?

These content delivery models are known as AVOD (promotional video on demand) and they base their business strategy on ad inserts for profit. This some of the alternatives for watching free audiovisual content:

• RTBE Play
• pluto tv
• Rakuten
• Legally free and YouTube
• electronic film
• tiwifi
• video

Many of these free platforms don’t even require users to register. Although the offer may be limited from time to time, many of them have with movie rental services which brings his model closer to the video store from the past.

So while it might be one of your favorite platforms, HBO Max price increase The fun of streaming platforms doesn’t end there, as there are many options on the market.