Americans are quitting subscription streaming services in droves as the cost of living continues to climb, a recent report has found.
Streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu have become increasingly popular in recent years, but Deloitte’s 2026 Digital Media Trends report, released late last month, shows how Americans are getting frustrated over the cost to have their favorite movies and TV shows at the click of a button.
About 40 percent of Americans have cut back on streaming services in the last three months because of financial concerns, according to the report.
“As the cost of everyday essentials like food and housing remain high, many consumers are reevaluating their budgets and cutting back on nonessential expenditures,” Deloitte said in its survey results. “At the same time, prices for media and entertainment services continue to climb.”
Nearly 75 percent of Americans are frustrated that the streaming platform they subscribe to continues to raise prices, according to the report.
Just as the report was released, Netflix announced it was raising prices for a second year running.
The cost of a standard plan with ads increased by $1 to $8.99 per month and ad-free plans jumped an extra $2 per month.
The standard plan without ads, which allows viewing on two different devices simultaneously, now costs $19.99 per month, and the premium plan with no ads and streaming on four different devices at once costs $26.99.
Disney also increased the cost of its streaming services last September.
The price of Disney+ with ads rose from $9.99 to $11.99 per month, and its premium option without ads increased by $3 to $18.99 per month. Hulu’s basic plan with ads also rose $2 to $11.99 per month, while its no-ad premium version remained at $18.99 per month.
While inflation held steady in February at an annual rate of 2.4 percent, it was still above the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target.
Many Americans still struggled to put food on the table and gas in the tank. Grocery prices were up 0.4 percent from the month before, and gas prices were up 0.8 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index.
On Friday, the government will release the Consumer Price Index for March, which is expected to be impacted by the high gas prices from the war in Iran.
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