HBO Max is offering one of the deepest streaming discounts this season, slashing its ad-supported plan to $2.99 a month for an entire year — about 70 percent off the regular monthly price. The catch on this Cyber Monday special is time: it’s available for a limited time, and once that window closes, you’re out of luck.
What this Cyber Monday streaming deal actually gets you
The deal covers the service’s basic ad-supported plan, which is normally $9.99 a month, billed monthly for 12 months before it begins charging the usual price. Like most holiday streaming promos, eligibility tends to be in favor of new or returning subscribers and can’t be combined with any other discount. Some taxes and fees are not included, and the service is not available in all markets.
- What this Cyber Monday streaming deal actually gets you
- Why this deep streaming discount stands out this year
- The library you’re getting with the discounted HBO Max plan
- What you lose with the basic ad-supported HBO Max plan
- How to get the most out of the rest of the year with Max
- Bottom line: act fast while the Cyber Monday price lasts
For this price, the offer is simple: a year of HBO’s marquee originals and Warner Bros. hits for less than the cost of a single movie rental per month. If you’ve waited to dip into the catalog, it’s structured to let you get over that price point while giving you even more time to binge.
Why this deep streaming discount stands out this year
Holiday streaming offers are nothing new, but 70 percent off for a year is unusually aggressive. Year-end promotions pile up subscriber spikes, according to industry tracker Antenna, which found it’s as if households are rotating in service providers for content. As subscription fatigue mounts and list prices slowly tick up across the landscape, these kinds of deep cuts are a demonstrable way to attract fence-sitters and recall churned users.
Nielsen’s The Gauge has returned consistent results showing streaming taking over a third of the U.S.’s total TV time, and services with premium libraries are trending. Put another way, a low point of entry plus a heady concentration of buzzy titles typically yields sustained viewing — the very buffer that platforms covet during award season and spring sports.
The library you’re getting with the discounted HBO Max plan
The appeal of HBO Max is breadth and depth. You’re seeing beloved series like House of the Dragon, The Last of Us, Succession, True Detective, The White Lotus, The Wire, and The Sopranos alongside a sprawling Warner Bros. film slate, and DC and Wizarding World properties. There’s also a strong selection of international dramas, documentaries, and family programming, and beloved libraries including Studio Ghibli in the U.S.
Sports on the platform will be served up through the B/R Sports Add-On, which has brought NBA, NHL, and NCAA March Madness coverage via WBD’s TNT/TBS rights. That add-on is occasionally made available as a free preview, but it’s separate from the base $2.99 plan, so read the terms when you sign up if live games are a priority.
What you lose with the basic ad-supported HBO Max plan
The ad-supported tier has to do with savings, not specs. You’ll have to settle for video capped below 4K and lose premium audio formats such as Dolby Atmos. There are no offline downloads, and fewer people can stream at the same time compared with the above plan. If you already have a 4K HDR setup and care about top bitrates, the more expensive plans with 4K, Dolby Vision/Atmos, and expanded downloads are a better match — though they’re not included in this Cyber Monday discount.
For the vast majority of households watching on a 1080p TV or tablet, though, the day-to-day difference in what you’re watching is minimal, and those advertisement breaks underwrite that massive discount. It’s that straightforward: cinema-grade formats later, or one year of rock-bottom pricing now.
How to get the most out of the rest of the year with Max
Fill the front of your watchlist with tentpoles and award contenders playing out this season; binge through back-of-the-collection noms later. Put a calendar reminder for a few weeks before the 12th billing cycle, so you can re-evaluate whether you want to do something (or nothing) before the rate resets. Create individual profiles and rely on parental controls to customize recommendations; that will make discovery stronger and keep your home screen free of distractions.
It is not scientific, but consumer surveys from companies like Deloitte still find households are rotating services to save money. When you can lock in a year at the promotional rate of $2.99, HBO Max becomes the “always-on” slot in your rotation, cycling others in and out as new shows drop.
Bottom line: act fast while the Cyber Monday price lasts
Value like this doesn’t linger. If HBO’s lineup is a must-watch for you, the $2.99-a-month Cyber Monday price gets it in your pocket at a rare 12-month runway and pennies on the dollar. Just remember what is being included, what isn’t, and plan your viewing (and your reminder) accordingly.