Streamflation: Which streaming services have raised their prices?
Brady Knox
Video Embed
Across the past year, prices for streaming services have shot up across the board.
Disney+ is the latest to follow the trend, frustrating customers, many of whom see it as reneging on the original promise that streaming services offered a cheaper and more efficient alternative to cable. A Wall Street Journal analysis found that the average price for an ad-free streaming service has increased by about 25% in the past year.
FOUR HOUSE REPUBLICANS WHO FACE TOUGH REELECTION PROSPECTS HEADING INTO 2024
Streaming services first offered fire sale prices to lure in customers and create rapid growth, but have now had to go back on the model, as many face a financial reckoning. Price hikes are likely to continue in the future.
Here are all the streaming giants that have increased their prices recently.
Netflix
Perhaps the king of streaming services, Netflix was a pioneer for the model, almost holding a monopoly for a brief period. It also held out for a considerable period against engaging in price hikes but made up for the delay with two unpopular moves with consumers. For one, it cracked down on password-sharing, only allowing a single household to watch the service unless it paid a fee. It also ended its $9.99 ad-free option in July, instead offering a $6.99 ad-supported tier and a $15.99 ad-free tier.
Hulu
Hulu, already one of the priciest streaming services, will become the most expensive of the giants starting Oct. 8, when it increases its ad-free price from $14.99 per month to $17.99 per month. Its ad-supported tier will remain at $7.99 per month.
Hulu’s Live TV plan is getting a price hike as well — the ad-free plan will be increased from $82.99 per month to $89.99 per month, while the ad-supported plan will be raised from $69.99 per month to $79.99 per month.
Disney+
Disney+ is seeing perhaps the most dramatic price rise of all the streaming giants — its ad-free plan is set to nearly double in price from what it was last year. In December, the ad-free plan was just $7.99 per month. The price jumped to $10.99 earlier this year, and Oct. 8 will rise again to $13.99 per month. As with Hulu, its ad-supported plan will stay at $7.99 per month for now. Disney also plans to follow Netflix’s lead of cracking down on password sharing sometime next year.
Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime’s streaming service is difficult to compare with the others, as the streaming service is only one part of the much wider benefits associated with it. However, the price for a prime membership has nearly doubled over the past 10 years, going from just $79 a year to $139 per year.
Max (formerly HBO Max)
HBO’s streaming platform, priced at $14.99 at the start of the year, increased its price to $15.99 in January. The relatively small increase was downplayed in a press release from Max, although it made it the most expensive streaming service at the time.
“This price increase of one dollar will allow us to continue to invest in providing even more culture-defining programming and improving our customer experience for all users,” HBO Max said in January in a press release.
Apple TV
Apple TV launched its first price hike last year, increasing from $4.99 per month to $6.99 per month. The streaming service is the cheapest of all the streaming giants, but the price hike caused considerable frustration from consumers.
YouTube TV
YouTube TV, offering a different service than most streaming services, increased its prices by 12% in April, increasing costs from $64.99 per month to $72.99 per month.
Peacock
Peacock unveiled its first-ever price hike in July, going from $4.99 per month to $5.99 per month for a premium subscription, and from $9.99 per month to $11.99 per month for the premium plus subscription.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Paramount+
Paramount+, following its integration with Showtime, upped its premium plan from $9.99 per month to $11.99 per month, and its ad-supported essential plan from $4.99 to $5.99 per month. Only the premium plan will include Showtime.