‘Tis the season for streaming price increases, apparently. Hulu increased its monthly price by $1 earlier this month while sibling streamer Disney+ will increase its ad-free rates from $7.99 to $10.99 starting on Dec. 8. On Monday, Apple announced that it would be raising its subscription prices for a number of services, including Apple TV+.
When Netflix introduces its lower-cost ad-supported tier next month, the streaming giant will keep its current ad-free premium rates at $9.99, $15.49, or $19.99 — which were raised in January. Subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) platforms aren’t the only ones to raise their rates. This year, live TV streaming services DIRECTV STREAM, fuboTV, and Hulu + Live TV have all raised rates as well. Sports-focused hybrid streamer ESPN+ also raised its price this fall.
Related: Which Streaming Service is Due For a Price Hike?
Combined with the February increase to an Amazon Prime membership, a large percentage of cord-cutters have seen their monthly streaming bills increase during the year. However, not every service has jacked up its prices this year. In fact, some services have made it more economical to stream their content. Paramount Global-owned streamers Paramount+ and SHOWTIME finally merged in at least one respect. While customers can continue to subscribe to each service on a standalone basis, SHOWTIME is now available in the Paramount+ app via bundling options ranging from $11.99 to $14.99.
Another forthcoming service merger will likely increase prices for customers as well as Warner Bros. Discovery is planning on combining HBO Max and discovery+ in the summer of 2023. Currently, discovery+ is available for either $4.99 or $6.99 monthly and HBO Max is $9.99 or $14.99 monthly, the assumption is that WBD will need to find a price point that is palatable to both disparate subscriber bases. Presumably, that will require a price increase — at least for discovery+ customers — but WBD has not confirmed the details for the future platform.
So, with all of these changes occurring over the past calendar year, and even more coming in the near future, which streaming services have kept their prices consistent throughout 2022?
Streaming Services Yet to Increase Rates in 2022
| Service | Last Price Increase | Current Monthly Price | Previous Monthly Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| discovery+ | Never | Ad-Supported: $4.99 | Ad-Free: $6.99 | N/A |
| HBO Max | Never | Ad-Supported: $9.99 | Ad-Free: $14.99 | N/A |
| Paramount+ | Never | Ad-Supported: $4.99 | Ad-Free: $9.99 | N/A |
| Peacock | Never | Ad-Supported: $4.99 | Ad-Free: $9.99 | N/A |
| Prime Video | Standalone has never increased | Standalone: $8.99 | With Amazon Prime: $14.99 | N/A |
| Showtime | Never | Standalone: $9.99 | Paramount+/Showtime Ad-Supported: $11.99 | Paramount+/Showtime Ad-Free: $14.99 | N/A |
| Sling TV | January 2021 | Sling Orange: $35 | Sling Blue: $35 | Sling Orange + Blue: $50 | Sling Orange: $30 | Sling Blue: $30 | Sling Orange + Blue: $45 |
| Starz (Lionsgate+) | Never | $8.99 | N/A |
| YouTube TV | June 2020 | Base Price: $65 | Base Price: $50 |