Discovery+ prices rise as new owner Skydance lifts fees
Discovery+ just got more expensive.
Skydance, the new owner of the service, has raised monthly prices on both Discovery+ plans, according to Deadline. It is the first price change since Skydance was created from the merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery.
The base plan with adverts now costs $6.99 a month, up $1. The higher-priced plan with fewer adverts, often called ad-light, now costs $11.99 a month, up $2. Both increases apply to the standalone Discovery+ service in the United States.
What subscribers get for that fee is a large library of unscripted television. Discovery+ offers about 50,000 hours of programming from networks including TLC, Discovery, HGTV and Food Network. The service launched in 2021 and has stayed separate ever since, rather than being folded into a larger platform.
The new prices are a step up from where the service started. At launch, Discovery+ cost $4.99 a month for the base tier and $6.99 a month for the plan with fewer ads. It later rose to $5.99 and $9.99 in January 2025, after an earlier increase on the higher tier in 2023, according to past reports from Reuters and The Hollywood Reporter.
The rise comes days after a major change of ownership. Paramount completed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on 6 October 2026, creating Skydance as a new global entertainment company, according to Paramount. That takeover was valued at $110 billion, according to Reuters.
Skydance carries nearly $80 billion in debt and has pledged to deliver $6 billion in cost savings. Price rises on streaming services, where customers pay a recurring monthly subscription, can add revenue without adding new subscribers.
Discovery+ is not the only service in the group to cost more. HBO Max’s basic tier with ads costs $10.99 a month after a $1 increase. Its Standard plan, which offers higher picture quality and more simultaneous streams, costs $18.49 a month.
For viewers, this means a reality-heavy service now costs close to its launch price twice over. Anyone on a monthly plan will see the higher charge at the next billing date unless they cancel or switch plans.
