HBO Max downgrades lifetime subscription

In February 2025, HBO Max stripped 4K, HDR, and Dolby Atmos from European subscribers who had signed up with a 50% "lifetime" discount, unless those subscribers agreed to pay more for a Premium tier.^[1] Warner Bros. Discovery had offered the discount during its 2022 European launch to attract early adopters, promising 50% off for the lifetime of their subscription.^[2] Three years later, the company restructured its tier system, moved 4K and Dolby Atmos behind a higher-priced Premium plan, and told legacy subscribers their discount now applied to a plan with fewer features than the one they originally paid for.^[3]

HBO Max launched in the Netherlands and 14 other European countries on March 8, 2022.^[2] The service had already launched in the Nordics (Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland) and Spain on October 26, 2021, with an identical lifetime discount promotion.^[4]

In the Netherlands, subscribers who signed up between March 8 and March 31, 2022 received a 50% discount off the then-current monthly subscription price, applicable for as long as they maintained an active subscription with a valid payment method.^[5] The Standard tier cost €3.99 per month (50% of €7.99) and included 1080p and 4K UHD streaming on select titles, three concurrent streams, and 30 downloads.^[6] Christina Sulebakk, General Manager of HBO Max EMEA, described the promotion as a "once in a lifetime opportunity."^[6]

On June 11, 2024, HBO Max restructured its subscription tiers in the Netherlands, integrating Discovery+ content into the platform.^[7] The service kept the "HBO Max" name in the Netherlands and Belgium due to a trademark dispute with Omroep MAX, the Dutch public broadcaster that had held rights to the name "MAX" in the Benelux since 2005.^[8] Lifetime discount holders on the Standard tier were moved from €3.99 to €4.99 per month (50% of the new €9.99 Standard price).^[1] Despite the tier restructuring, these subscribers initially retained 4K and Dolby Atmos access.^[9]

On February 21, 2025, HBO Max emailed legacy subscribers in the Netherlands and other European markets, notifying them that their plan features would be reduced effective March 24, 2025.^[10] The email cited Clause 22.5(iv) of the HBO Max Terms of Use as the legal basis for the changes.^[11]

Subscribers were given two choices. They could keep paying the same amount (€4.99/month with the lifetime discount) and accept a downgrade to HD (1080p), SDR, Dolby 5.1 audio, and two concurrent streams. Or they could upgrade to the Premium tier at €6.99 per month (50% of €13.99), which would preserve 4K, HDR, Dolby Atmos, and four concurrent streams.^[3] The Premium upgrade offer was only available until March 24, 2025; after that date, the option to apply the lifetime discount to the Premium plan would be permanently forfeited.^[11]

Android Planet characterized the change as a "verkapte prijsverhoging van twee euro" (a concealed €2 price increase), since retaining the features that came with the original subscription now cost €6.99 instead of €4.99.^[1] The terms also included a lock-in provision: subscribers who switched to any other plan after upgrading to Premium, or who canceled and resubscribed, would permanently lose the lifetime discount.^[11]

A similar downgrade had already occurred in the United States. On December 5, 2023, US legacy ad-free subscribers paying $15.99 per month lost 4K streaming and their third concurrent stream, and were told to upgrade to the $19.99 Ultimate Ad-Free tier to retain those features.^[12]

* where available

In November 2025, HBO Max raised prices across Europe, with Netherlands increases taking effect on November 6.^[13] The Premium plan rose from €14 to €17, and the Standard plan from €10 to €12.^[13] Because the lifetime discount is defined as 50% off the current price rather than a fixed amount, legacy subscribers on the Premium plan saw their monthly cost increase accordingly.

HBO Max did not reverse the downgrade or offer legacy subscribers the option to keep 4K on the Standard plan. The company's official notification emails stated that the changes were being made "in accordance with clause 22.5(iv) of the Max Terms of Use."^[11] The only concession was the time-limited option to transfer the lifetime discount to the Premium tier before March 24, 2025.^[3]

Dutch technology press covered the downgrade extensively, with articles from Androidworld,^[10] Android Planet,^[1] FilmTotaal,^[3] and Bright^[9] all reporting on the feature reductions. Multiple outlets noted that the subscribers affected were the earliest adopters who had signed up based on the lifetime discount promotion.

On Reddit, a thread in r/nederlands titled "HBO Max eenzijdige aanpassing voorwaarden" (HBO Max unilateral adjustment of terms) drew complaints from Dutch subscribers, with multiple users describing the downgrade as a bait and switch.^[14] Discussions also appeared on r/sweden and r/HBOMAX, where subscribers in other European markets reported receiving identical emails.^[15] On Hacker News, users characterized the move as an "easy way to get rid of the few remaining lifetime 50% discount subscriptions," consistent with a broader pattern of streaming service enshittification.^[16]

Subscribers who missed the March 24 deadline reported on Reddit that customer service refused to reinstate the discount on the Premium tier, leaving them locked into the downgraded Standard plan at the discounted rate or paying full price for Premium.^[17]

The EU Unfair Contract Terms Directive (93/13/EEC) classifies contract terms that allow a seller to "alter the terms of the contract unilaterally without a valid reason which is specified in the contract" as potentially unfair.^[18] The EU Digital Content Directive (2019/770) provides additional protections for consumers of digital services, including the right to a remedy when a digital service does not conform to its contractual specifications.^[19]

HBO Max relied on Clause 22.5(iv) of its Terms of Use to justify the changes. Under Dutch law, the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) enforces rules against unfair contract modifications and has stated that providers may change pricing or conditions only if permitted by their general terms, and that consumers may cancel without cost if the change is to their disadvantage.^[18] No ACM enforcement action or formal legal proceedings against HBO Max related to this downgrade have been publicly reported as of March 2026.