Last year right around this time we rounded up a list of all the different streaming services that raised their prices, a reaction to streamers being unprofitable and stock prices dropping, even with the advent of ads and reductions in content. Like clockwork, almost all of those same services have bumped up prices yet again, even as some are just finally starting to break a profit.
Of course, the way streamers are getting around these price hikes are…say it with us now…bundles! Everyone loves bundles! Or better yet “joint ventures.” If you’re paying one price to get three services rather than three prices to get all three services, you’re less likely to cancel when say, two labor strikes slow down the content pipeline and you have to wait another six months for your favorite show, or when you’re about to lose the NBA to a company worth $1.75 trillion.
So no, you’re not alone in thinking “isn’t this starting to look a whole lot like cable?” It is, just without the ability to find everything you want in a single place or without the cash flow that makes all this possible. That’s what the price hikes are for.
So without further ado, here are the streaming services that raised their prices this year, what they cost now, and why they probably aren’t done. This too is just the list of price increases announced in 2024. Discovery+ raised its prices by $2 to its ad-free tier last November for the first time since it launched in 2021, and Apple TV+ went up to $10 at the end of last year.
Disney+ and Hulu (and ESPN+)
For almost every way you may stream Disney’s content, your prices are going up, starting October 17. If you have ads on Disney+, those prices went up to $9.99/month. If you don’t have ads, that’s more expensive too, now at $15.99/month. Hulu with ads ($9.99/month) and without ($18.99/month) also rose, as did Hulu + Live TV (with ads is $82.99, without is $95.99). Don’t forget about ESPN+; that’s a dollar pricier too, $11.99/month. Unless you get the Disney+/Hulu duo bundle at the premium rate, you’re going to feel it in your wallet.
Disney tried to soften the blow of the price increases by saying Disney+ now has FAST channels. But October 2024’s price increase comes just about a year to the date of the last increase in prices in October 2023, which itself was 10 months after some December 2022 price raises. Guess what we’re predicting for 2025?
Starz
If you can believe it, Lionsgate’s Starz raised its prices last year but lowered the price for people who paid for it annually. Now the monthly price is again going up by another dollar, from $9.99 to $10.99. Lionsgate is still working on spinning off Starz from the film and TV studio of its business, which could create a lot of uncertainty for the streamer should it get acquired or absorbed once the spin is complete. The price increase is effective September 5.
Lionsgate did however package the price increase with the announcement of a new bundle with BritBox, the niche streamer of British shows, along with a few additional FAST channels such as an action channel curated by 50 Cent.
Paramount+
Many analysts suspect Paramount+ will need to find a bundle or a joint venture in order to reach profitability, if not stay afloat entirely. In the interim though, prices were raised $1 for its top tier of Paramount+ with Showtime to $12.99/month, and $2 to $7.99/month for its ad-tier Essential plan, though that price increase applies to new subscribers only. Paramount+ also raised the price of its “Limited Commercial Plan” for existing subscribers by $1 and no longer make it available for new subs.
These changes go into effect August 20. Paramount+ last raised prices on June 24, 2023, when Showtime was rolled into Paramount+.
Peacock
Just ahead of the Olympics beginning, Peacock raised its prices for new subscribers beginning on July 18 to $7.99/month and $79.99/year, and $13.99/month and $139.99/year for Premium Plus without ads. Peacock made the most of its Olympic coverage with creative new programming and tech to showcase every minute of the games, all of it streaming live for the first time.
We’ll see how effective the Olympics were at bringing in subscribers next quarter. In Q2, Peacock reported having 33 million subscribers, down from 34 million, but lost only $348 million in the quarter compared to $639 million the quarter prior. Peacock will also bolster its offering this fall with more NFL games and eventually NBA games for the next 11 years.
Max
Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max raised the price to its ad-free tier by a dollar to $16.99/per month and to its Ultimate tier to $20.99/per month, as well as similar increases to the annual plans, while keeping its ad-supported pricing unchanged at $9.99/month and $99.99/year.
Max made this change without warning back on June 4, just ahead of the debut of Season 2 of “House of the Dragon.” The collective of all of WBD’s direct-to-consumer offerings reached 103 million subscribers last quarter.
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon didn’t technically raise prices to its Prime Video service, but it did force everyone to watch ads starting back on January 29. Users were required to opt-in for an additional $2.99/month, on top of your existing Prime bill, if they wanted to keep their service the same.
With Prime Video biting the bullet on ads, Apple TV+ is now the only remaining hold out.
Netflix
Netflix not only increased the price of its most-expensive Premium plan, rising $3 to $22.99/monthly, but it also tried to force more users onto its ad-supported plan. It did so in July by eliminating the Basic Plan, which was the cheapest option available if you didn’t want to watch commercials but were willing to adhere to strict limits on devices and streaming quality. That plan cost $11.99/month, which itself was an increase from October 2023.
Now though users can watch the cheaper Standard With Ads for $6.99/month or its most popular Standard Plan for $15.49/monthly.
Philo
Live TV streamer Philo increased its prices by $3, to $28/month, for its new and returning subscribers, effective June 12, but only if you chose to opt-in to the bundle addition of streamer AMC+. Anyone who didn’t want to watch “Mad Men” need only opt-out and keep their price the same. Philo also introduced some new FAST channels as well, but the $28 price tag is the most significant price raise in a while, considering it was as affordable as $16 back in 2017 when it first launched.
Fubo
Fubo starting on February 1 raised the prices on all of its pricing tiers by $5/month, with the cheapest Pro tier coming in at $79.99/month for the live TV streaming offering. It also increased its regional sports fee and add-on of Starz by $1.
At the very least, Fubo had the courtesy to blame its price increases on blames the increase on higher prices from programming partners and says it’s “forced to pass some of that increase on to you.”
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