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Streamflation Continues: Which Streamer is Likely to Raise Prices Next?

Disney+, Paramount+ and Peacock have already hiked or pledged to hike subscription rates this year. Which service is next?

David Satin
David covers the biggest news stories, live events, premieres, and informational pieces for The Streamable. Before joining TS, he wrote extensively for Screen Rant and has years of experience writing about the entertainment and streaming industries. He's a Broncos fan, streams on his Toshiba Fire TV, and his favorites include "Andor," "Rings of Power," and "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds."
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David Satin
A large number of streaming services have announced or executed price increases in 2024, and more are likely to follow.

It’s hardly a shock to the public that streaming prices are on the rise across the board. “Streaming is now as expensive as cable” is a popular refrain, and indeed the cost of stacking five or six streaming services runs into the $70-$80 monthly range. Streamers are all straining to achieve profitability, and asking customers to pay more is a key part of the equation.

Below we’ll examine which streaming services have already raised prices in the recent past, and which are likely to do so next.

Which Streamers Raise Prices Most Historically?

We’re far removed from the days when there were only one or two subscription-based streaming services on the market. But which has been the worst offender in pillaging customer pocket books and continually asking for more money from customers?

Data from Finance Buzz does a good job of illustrating the answer to this question. Netflix has been the most consistently willing to raise prices in its day; the cost of watching content ad-free on the service has nearly doubled since 2007. That lines up with data compiled by The Streamable which shows the cost of the most expensive Netflix plan has risen by 188% in that time.

Click graph to expand image.

The chart from Finance Buzz illustrates how important the ability to show a profit has become for most streamers in the past two years, when services like Apple TV+, Max, Paramount+ and Peacock all began raising prices. That’s around the timeframe when several streamers launched new ad-supported plans to continue raising streaming income as well.

Which Streaming Services Have Already Raised Prices or Announced Price Increases This Year?

DIRECTV STREAM

DIRECTV STREAM informed customers that its rates would be going up starting in October.

At the beginning of September, DIRECTV STREAM informed customers that prices for its various live TV streaming packages were going up starting in October. Prices will rise by as much as $10 per month depending on which plan viewers are subscribed to.

Disney+

All Disney services are increasing in price come October, including Disney+

In early August, Disney announced that it would be hiking prices for almost all of its bundles and individual streaming services for the third year in a row. Standalone Disney+ with ads will cost $9.99 after the price jump takes effect in October, and ad-free Disney+ Premium is increasing to $15.99 each month.

ESPN+

ESPN+ has pledged to boost its subscription rate by $1 per month.

As with the other Disney-owned streaming services, ESPN+ was announced as increasing its price in October. The service will take on the most modest increase of all Disney services, rising from $10.99 per month to $11.99. ESPN+ may be a service in the way out, as Disney readies to launch a new ESPN streaming service more closely aligned with the content found on ESPN’s linear channels.

Hulu

Hulu was also included in the Disney price increase announcement for its streaming services, and both of its plans are rising in cost. Its ad-supported tier is increasing to the same base price as Disney+ Basic: $9.99 per month. The ad-free subscription is jumping from $17.99 per month to $18.99.

Hulu + Live TV

Hulu + Live TV will join other Disney streamers in raising prices this October.

Hulu + Live TV is joining its fellow Disney streamers in raising subscription rates. It will be jumping in price from $76.99 per month to $82.99 in October, though it will still provide free access to the Disney Bundle.

Max

Max only increased prices on its ad-free tiers this year.

Max followed a trend this year that many other streaming providers have gone with recently: raising prices on ad-free streaming plans while deciding not to do so with ad-supported plans. Over the summer, Max raised the price of its ad-free plan by $1 to $16.99 per month, as well as the cost of its Ultimate subscription from $19.99 to $20.99.

Paramount+

Paramount+ raised prices on all of its plans for new customers already, while existing customers will see the change this month.

Paramount+ has already changed prices for new customers, and existing subscribers will see the rise reflected in their first bill on or after Sept. 20. The streamer now costs $7.99 per month to stream with ads, or $12.99 to cut out the ads during playback, an increase of $2 and $1 respectively. Annual plans have also changed to reflect the increase, and now cost $79.99 or $129.99.

Peacock

Peacock increased rates by $1 per month for ad-supported service, or $2 for ad-free.

Peacock bumped its subscription rates northward in July, just a few weeks before it started coverage of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. The streamer increased rates for its ad-supported plan and its ad-free tier by $2 each, resulting in prices of $7.99 per month for Peacock Premium or $13.99 for Peacock Premium Plus. Correspondingly, annual plans are now $79.99 or $139.99 per year.

Prime Video

Prime Video hiked the cost of streaming ad-fre by $2 per month in January.

Amazon’s streaming service Prime Video hiked subscription rates for ad-free streaming in January, when it introduced its ad-supported plan. Formerly $8.99 per month, the cost to watch Prime Video without ads has now risen to $11.98 per month.

Fubo

Fubo prices have gone up once, and the service will likely continue to fine-tune its plan offerings.

Fubo raised prices on all plans by $5 per month in January, and more recently it changed up the plan offerings it provided by ditching some packages and combining its add-ons with some of its base plans. That increased rates still further, though Fubo is well-known for experimenting with its plan offerings, and may change them back once football season ends.

Philo

Philo is still under $30 per month, but did raise prices by $3 earlier this year.

Philo has been one of the most consistent streamers as far as price goes, but that changed earlier this year when the service raised the cost of its “skinny” channel bundle from $25 per month to $28. In exchange, subscribers were able to get a free subscription to ad-supported AMC+ as part of their plan.

Which Streamers Are Likely to Raise Prices Next?

Netflix

A price increase for all Netflix plans seems likely in the near future.

Things have been quiet on the Netflix front for too long. Though the streamer last raised prices in 2023, the increases only affected customers on the Basic (no longer available to new subscribers) and Premier plans. Netflix teased another price hike could be on the way in January, and company co-CEO Greg Peters gave a non-committal answer when asked about the possibility of raising the cost of its ad-supported offering in July.

Likely to Announce a Price Increase in 2024? Yes

Apple TV+

Apple TV+ is launching an ad-supported plan sooner or later that will likely drive up the cost of ad-free streaming.

Signs continue to point to Apple TV+ trying to build a new ad-supported streaming plan. It’s the only major service that does not currently have such a plan in place, and I think that when it does roll out a plan with ads it will follow the same strategy as Amazon; that is, it will raise the cost of streaming ad-free and price the ad-supported tier at the same $9.99 it charges to stream with no commercials now.

Likely to Announce a Price Increase in 2024? Yes

Sling TV

Sling TV is a true toss-up when it comes to a future price increase.

Sling TV is probably the hardest streamer to gauge on this list. It has not raised subscription rates since late 2022, and the financial health of its parent company DISH is such that a price increase would bring much-needed revenue into its coffers. However, with football season started and Sling’s reputation as a cheap way to watch channels like ESPN and FS1 on the line, I’m still leaning toward the idea that it will not raise subscription rates for the rest of 2024.

Likely to Announce a Price Increase in 2024? No

YouTube TV

YouTube TV will probably ask for a price hike in the near future, though perhaps not in 2024.

YouTube TV has been mostly steady with its price increases, and has raised subscription rates fairly regularly since launch. Last year, the service increased its price from $64.99 per month to $72.99. I still think a price increase is coming for this service eventually, especially since peers like DIRECTV STREAM and Hulu + Live TV have raised rates or announced they’re planning to this year. However, since it’s already September I think YouTube TV will hold off on a price hike until 2025.

Likely to Announce a Price Increase in 2024? No

David Satin
David covers the biggest news stories, live events, premieres, and informational pieces for The Streamable. Before joining TS, he wrote extensively for Screen Rant and has years of experience writing about the entertainment and streaming industries. He's a Broncos fan, streams on his Toshiba Fire TV, and his favorites include "Andor," "Rings of Power," and "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds."
Read full bio ›
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