Your monthly HBO Max bill just went up

• HBO Max's ad-free plan now costs $15.99 per month in the US, an increase of a dollar.
• It comes head of a planned merger with Discovery+ this year.
• Max has sparked criticism recently after some content was removed from the service.

HBO Max just got more expensive.

Starting Thursday, the ad-free plan in the US costs $15.99 per month, an increase of a dollar. For existing subscribers, the new price will take effect with their next billing cycle on or after February 11.

It marks the first price hike for HBO Max since it launched in 2020. A cheaper, ad-supported plan launched last year for $9.99 per month.

The move comes ahead of an expected merger of HBO Max and Discovery+ this year.

HBO Max one of the most expensive major streaming services. It now has the second-most expensive ad-free plan, behind Netflix's $20-a-month 4K offering (Netflix's most popular plan, its standard HD plan, is $15.50).

HBO Max's parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, has sparked criticism recently for removing some content from HBO Max in an effort to cut costs, including "Westworld," hundreds of "Sesame Street" episodes, and some original movies that debuted on the platform.

Some content, such as "Westworld," is moving to a third-party free, ad-supported platform. Warner Bros. Discovery is also developing its own such service.