It’s official. Hulu Live TV is now up by $10 and is going for $54.99, starting today. The streaming service was previously $44.99. The new price is a reflection of the value of Hulu + Live TV together, “as it is the only service that brings live and on-demand television in one,” the company stated.
This is just the latest in industry-wide price increases by Live TV Streaming Services, as they try to cover the costs of fattening bundles. With services adding channels from Turner, Viacom, and Discovery — most services including Fubo ($55) and YouTube TV ($50) raised prices as much as 25% in the last year. AT&T TV NOW has gone the other direction, raising prices by almost 50% this year and thinning the bundle — removing channels from A&E, AMC and Discovery. Only Sling TV ($25) have yet to raise prices in 2019, while Philo discontinued their cheaper $16 a month plan.
History of Live TV Streaming Service Price Hikes
In February, after adding networks from Discovery, Hulu Live TV increased the price of their service from $40 to $45. Soon after, DIRECTV NOW discontinued their existing plans — launching two new plans starting at $50 a month (up from $40), without channels from A&E, AMC and Discovery. In March, Fubo, after adding Viacom channels, raised the price of their service from $45 to $55 a month.
In April, YouTube TV, altering adding Discovery channels, raised the price of their plans, including on grandfathered customers from $40 to $50.
In May, Philo discontinued their $16 a month plan, leaving just their $20 plan for new customers.
In July, PlayStation Vue raised the price of all plans — Access, Core, Elite, & Ultra — by $5 a month. The hike came almost exactly one year after the company raised the price of their plans by the same amount. The service will be shutting down on January 30th, 2020, after failing to grow subscribers.
In October, AT&T TV NOW alerted their customers that packages will be increasing starting November. Depending on their plans, users saw their bills increase from $55 to $85 in the course of a month, while others went from $35 to $65. Their Live a Little plan went front $50 to $60; Just Right was $65 is now $75; Go Big was $75 is now $85; Go Big (Early Adopter) was $50 is now $60; and Gotta Have It was $85 is now $95.
After the latest price hikes, Sling TV remains the only true skinny bundle at $25 a month. The service is currently offering both their Sling Orange and Sling Blue plans for just $15 a month (for your first month), or both packages for just $25. They recently announced their Total TV Deal which adds all their Extra Packs, plus their DVR for just $20 a month.