HBO Max Says Its New $10 Ad-Supported Tier Has Less Ads Than Other Services

After announcing plans to launch an ad-supported streaming tier, WarnerMedia has officially launched HBO Max with Ads for $10 a month. The company says that its ad-supported plan has less advertisements than competitors like Hulu, though it comes with a few drawbacks.

At $10 a month, HBO Max with Ads is $5 cheaper than the platform’s standard subscription tier. WarnerMedia says that it will only play 4 minutes of ads for each hour of streaming, and will not play ads while you view content made by HBO’s studios.

But the ad-supported tier is capped at 1080p resolution instead of 4K, it doesn’t support offline viewing, and it doesn’t come with same-day theatrical releases. Those on the $10 plan will need to wait 31 days for new theatrical movies to arrive on HBO Max with Ads.

To be fair, HBO Max plans to end same-day theatrical streaming by 2022, pivoting back to its pre-pandemic strategy. In that regard, those who take the ad-supported plan probably aren’t missing out on much—the list of theatrical movies to debut on HBO Max this year is short and mellow. Plus, if you want to see Dune or King Richard when they come out, you can just switch to the $15 plan for a month (it’s cheaper than buying a movie ticket).

Along with the new ad-supported tier, HBO Max now offers yearly plans that cost 16% less than its monthly plans. Unfortunately, WarnerMedia has also ended the free trial offer for HBO Max.

Source: HBO Max via The Streamable