Max, the streaming service formerly known as HBO Max, has misplaced 700,000 subscribers up to now three months. Despite the large drop, streaming income at Max, which is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, have been up 5 p.c—with a 30 p.c year-on-year bounce in promoting income. These numbers elevate an enormous query for the streaming business: People like Max, however they don’t actually wish to pay for it.

Figuring out how a lot to cost for what service, and whether or not to supply ad-supported tiers, is the existential disaster of the present streaming wars. Nearly each service—Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+—has elevated costs and/or added commercials to their providers up to now few months. While a lot of them did it extra just lately, Max’s service looks as if the least bang for essentially the most buck.

How so? Last January, Max elevated its costs from $15 to $16 for its ad-free model. But then in May, when HBO Max became Max, the corporate introduced its Ultimate Ad-Free tier, which prices $20 and contains 4K streaming. Not too unhealthy, particularly when you think about Netflix’s Premium tier can also be now $20 per thirty days. Max, although, recently emailed its legacy HBO Max prospects letting them know that though they’d been allowed to have 4K at their earlier $16-per-month price ticket, that deal can be ending in December. Suddenly, Max doesn’t appear fairly as value it—particularly when it’s ad-supported plan is barely $10.

According to Sarah Henschel, a principal analyst at Omdia who watches the streaming market carefully, Max’s subscribers have been “relatively flat” for almost a yr, and the service additionally misplaced subscribers within the quarter earlier to this one. Prior to Warner Bros. Discovery’s earnings report on Wednesday, Henschel mentioned it “would be promising to see subscriber growth”—one thing that usually occurs on the finish of the yr when folks join providers to look at through the vacation season—however in the end, it’s the income that issues. “Investors right now are very keen on profitability,” she says.

Warner Bros. Discovery, after all, isn’t the one firm attempting to determine what value is true for subscribers to show these income. The pack of firms chasing down Netflix, like Disney+, did so at low value factors in an try to draw subscribers. Their numbers went up, however they misplaced cash. Now, because the streaming market will get extra aggressive, they’ve turned to ad-supported tiers and better costs to make up the distinction. Companies are additionally cracking down on password-sharing to ensure everybody pays up—a way that has, to date, been working for Netflix.

Then there’s the matter of the content material itself. Max has huge troves of content material however has additionally shelved shows like Westworld to save money. Movies and TV collection transfer round on streaming providers on a regular basis, however watching them come and go now feels totally different. The Hollywood actors strike, and the writers strike earlier than it, slowed manufacturing on numerous new movies and exhibits this yr—although, curiously, not House of the Dragon—so the quantity of latest content material coming could also be a trickle for some time. Without a slate of flashy new exhibits and films to lure subscribers in, it might be some time earlier than Max’s person base actually spikes.

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav acknowledged the influence of the strikes on the corporate initially of Wednesday’s earnings name, saying he was “hopeful” there can be a decision quickly. “As the strikes underscore, these are challenging times. Our industry is facing accelerated disruption in a rapidly changing marketplace. And to succeed long term, we must be flexible and adaptable and have a strong arsenal of assets that will enable us to maintain momentum amidst ever evolving consumer behavior.” That habits contains deciding what quantity of {dollars}, if any, to pay for a streaming service.