In the era of streaming, prices have been steadily climbing throughout 2023. It all began with HBO Max's modest increase in January, followed by Paramount Plus, Peacock, YouTube Premium, Disney Plus, Hulu, Netflix, Apple TV Plus, and an impending raise from Amazon Prime Video.
Consumers, already feeling the pinch of inflation affecting various aspects of their lives, are now facing a collective rise in streaming costs, adding nearly $20 to their monthly entertainment expenses by the year's end.
Full Video Transcript Below:
J.D. DURKIN: Like everything else, the cost of streaming your favorite shows is on the rise. The wave of price hikes began in January when HBO Max, otherwise known as just Max, raised the price of its ad-free tier to $15.99 from $14.99. While the increase wasn’t huge, this marked the platform’s first price increase since launching in 2020.Fast forward to July, Paramount Plus also opted to raise its prices. The streaming service increased the price of its cheapest plan from $4.99 to $5.99. Just a month later, Peacock joined the fray. Owner NBC Universal raised the price from $4.99 to $5.99 for its premium tier and from $9.99 to $11.99 for the premium plus tier.This move also marked the service's first price hike. And YouTube Premium wasn’t far behind with a price hike of its own. The company bumped its prices by 2 dollars to $13.99 from $11.99.
Disney also increased the prices of both Disney Plus and Hulu. Disney Plus's ad-free tier saw a $3 increase, going from $10.99 a month to $13.99 a month, while Hulu's monthly subscription jumped from $14.99 to $17.99. Then just days later Netflix joined the price hike parade. The company raised the price of its premium ad-free tier to $22.99 and its basic plan to $11.99. The previous time Netflix increased prices was in January 2022. And it wasn’t long before Apple got in on the action. The tech giant announced it would be raising the monthly price of an Apple TV Plus subscription from $6.99 a month to $9.99 a month. This was the second price hike for Apple TV in the last 12 months after the company raised prices in October of 2022. And of course, Amazon Prime didn’t stay far behind. While the price hikes haven’t been implemented yet, the tech giant said it would start charging $2.99 each month for its ad-free video service on top of a $14.99 Prime membership starting in 2024.
These price hikes haven’t been easy on consumers who are already grappling with the challenges of rising inflation. The cost of everything from clothing to food to gas has surged, squeezing Americans’ wallets. All told, streaming alone could be costing you nearly $20 more each month as we come to the end of 2023.
