Discovery Plus is raising prices on both of its plans, adding another monthly bill increase just as its place in Paramount’s streaming lineup becomes an open question.
Starting Tuesday, the ad-supported plan will cost $6.99 a month, up from $5.99. The ad-free plan rises from $9.99 to $11.99 a month. That works out to increases of about 17 percent and 20 percent, respectively—not a small adjustment for subscribers paying to watch reality TV, home renovations and people investigating crimes on camera.
The change takes effect immediately for new subscribers. Existing subscribers will see the higher price on a billing statement dated on or after November 12th, according to The Verge. Discovery Plus last raised its prices in January 2025.
A price hike with a bigger streaming question
The timing is notable: Paramount closed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery just one week before the increase. Warner Bros. Discovery owned Discovery Plus and HBO Max. The combined companies, known as Skydance, plan to merge Paramount Plus and HBO Max into a single service over time. What happens to Discovery Plus in that plan has not been made clear.
That uncertainty matters because Discovery Plus is not selling an entirely separate universe of programming. The service carries shows from TLC, Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network and Investigation Discovery. Several titles—including 90 Day Fiancé, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and Deadliest Catch—are also available within an HBO Max subscription.
For viewers, the practical question is therefore not simply whether Discovery Plus is worth another dollar or two. It is whether the service’s distinct programming and convenience justify a separate subscription when some of its familiar shows are also available elsewhere. The answer will vary by household, but overlapping catalogs make price comparisons less tidy than a list of monthly rates suggests.
For the companies, combining streaming services could eventually make it easier to package programming under fewer subscriptions. That is a plausible commercial rationale, not a confirmed explanation for this price increase. Paramount has said its two major services will merge over time; it has not said that Discovery Plus will be folded in, discontinued or kept as a standalone product.
Until that changes, subscribers are being asked to pay more for a service whose longer-term position in a newly combined streaming business is unresolved. A higher price can make business sense on its own. Whether it makes sense to customers depends on what they watch—and what the companies decide to do next.
Sources: Glitch Please! and The Verge — https://www.theverge.com/streaming/1009994/discovery-plus-price-increase — Reported Discovery Plus plan prices, timing, programming and the companies’ stated streaming plans.
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