Max now packs 50% more ads into its streams

A hot potato: A week after a report showed that Amazon Prime has doubled the amount of ads it shows on the platform, it’s been discovered that Max is doing the same thing. However, unlike Amazon, Max isn’t trying to hide this increase.

The streamer’s support page confirms that its Max Basic with Ads plan now shows six minutes of ads per hour. According to an archive of the same page (via PCWorld), the plan showed four minutes of ads per hour as recently as February 2025. That means Max’s ad load is now 50% heavier than it was at the start of the year.

It appears that Max has also broken its promise never to show ads during HBO programming – Max will soon be known as HBO Max again. An episode of The Last of Us had three ad breaks, as well as several ads before the video started.

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After

Redditors have noticed the increase. One user said that they used to only see ads at the beginning of shows. Now, commercials appear multiple times during streams. Another user said that not only are there more of these ads, but they are also more intrusive and repetitive.

Max’s basic tier with ads costs $9.99 per month, whereas the ad-free plan is $16.99 per month.

It’s not just Max that is forcing more commercials down people’s throats. It was recently discovered that Amazon has also doubled its ad load, from a rate of two to 3.5 minutes of ads every hour to four to six minutes of ads per hour. Unlike Max, Amazon hasn’t been forthcoming about the change, preferring to inform investors rather than customers.

Netflix, which charges $7.99 per month for its ad-supported tier, has the fewest number of ads, while Hulu, Tubi, and Paramount+ are at the higher end.

Disney+ also increased its ad load since launch, going from the original four minutes of ads per hour to 5.3 minutes. As of 2023, Hulu’s seven minutes of ads every hour made it the worst offender among subscription streamers.

Despite more ads appearing on these streaming services, the numbers still pale in comparison to traditional TV channels, where ads take up anything between 15 to 18 minutes every hour.