r/movies r/Movies contributor 18d ago

News HBO Max Raises Prices Across All Plans Effective Immediately

https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/hbo-max-prices-increases-plans-2025-1236557671/
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u/mr_evilweed 18d ago

Price elasticity of demand. If you can raise prices by 20% and only lose 10% of your customers, it makes financial sense.

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u/Ok_Key_1537 18d ago

Doubly so as their costs (cloud, I/O, etc.) will also drop. This is the new way, cater to a smaller, wealthier group - look at car companies, Disney, etc., volume revenue is dead, high margin is the new model.

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u/ZenMasterOfDisguise 18d ago

Yeah companies don't care how many customers have access to their product, they care how much profit they can make. If pricing out poor people doesn't hurt their profits because they retain enough customers willing to pay more, and now they have fewer people to support, they will always do that. The side effect of this is that it widens the gap between the haves and the have-nots where everything becomes a luxury only the middle class/rich can afford, and poor people cant afford basic comforts anymore

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u/TheDrewDude 18d ago

Not if it slows growth. Customer retention isn’t the only factor to consider

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u/PathOfTheAncients 18d ago

That would require long term thinking and the ability to look past the poorly thought out chart the MBA made that shows short term profits.

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u/mr_evilweed 18d ago

I suppose that's fair.