Max Joins Others in Offering College Students 50% Off to Boost Numbers

HBO’s streaming service, Max, recently announced a significant move to attract more subscribers by offering a 50% discount on its ad-supported plans to college students. This initiative follows a trend among streaming services to provide discounts to students in a bid to increase their subscriber base and potentially retain them as paying customers post-graduation.

Students who validate their enrollment status through the UNiDays service will qualify for the 50% discount, reducing the cost of the ad-supported plan from $10 to $5 per month for a duration of 12 months. They can continue to avail of this discount by re-verifying their student status as long as they remain enrolled.

While Max’s streaming plans are among the pricier options in the market, with the ad-supported plan priced at $10 and the ad-free option at $17, the service has been steadily growing its subscriber base. Despite adding 609,947 paid subscribers in the first five months of the year, Max still trails behind industry giants like Netflix, Peacock, Paramount+, Hulu, and Disney+ in terms of overall subscriber numbers, with a total of 19.8 million subscribers as of May 2024.

Max joins a growing list of subscription-based services offering discounts to college students. Competitors like Hulu, Peacock, Amazon Prime Video, Paramount+, and Apple have all introduced various discount schemes to attract student subscribers. Hulu, for instance, provides a 65% discount on its ad-supported plan, while Peacock offers a similar discount for up to 12 months. Amazon Prime Video offers six months of free streaming for students, followed by a 50% discount, and Paramount+ provides a 25% discount on its basic plan, reducing the price to $4.50 per month. Apple offers its music streaming service and Apple TV+ for $5.99 per month for up to 48 months for students.

In conclusion, Max’s move to offer discounted plans to college students is part of a broader strategy to expand its subscriber base and compete in the increasingly crowded streaming market. By tapping into the student demographic with attractive discounts, streaming services aim to secure long-term customer loyalty and drive growth in an ever-evolving industry landscape.