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Death. Taxes. All your streaming services getting a little more expensive all the time. These are the new certainties in life, it seems.
In recent years, as the streaming TV and movie business has gotten more competitive and companies around Hollywood have thrown billions into building their own platforms and libraries in order to compete with Netflix, participating in the streaming era has gotten steadily more expensive. Netflix has raised the cost of its subscription multiple times since its launch. Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus have all gotten more expensive as Disney has invested more in streaming. Paramount Plus, Peacock, Shudder, Starz — practically any service you can name — charges more per month than it did a few years ago. Even as many of these services add ads to their platforms, they’re still charging more.
What’s behind all this wallet-raiding? A confluence of things. As more customers cancel cable, more quickly than anyone expected, the studios and distributors are looking for a way to make up the lost revenue. Good shows and movies are more in demand — and thus more expensive — than ever. And after a decade of spending money like it was going out of style because all investors cared about were subscriber numbers, Hollywood players of all sizes have found themselves needing to actually make money to stay in business.
Companies are looking for any way they can to improve their bottom line. They’re cracking down on password sharing, canceling shows for the tax breaks, and even selling their prized content to other platforms. But the most common strategy is simply to charge you, the viewer, more. A dollar here, two dollars there. Add it all up, and the golden era of TV suddenly has a pretty startling ticket price.
We’re tracking all the price increases and other changes from streaming services so you can make sure you’re only paying for what you want. (We’ll also include discounts and deals, though those seem to happen less and less.) Here’s the latest:
Max’s ad-supported tier is losing CNN and the Bleacher Report
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge
Though Max has always said that it planned to charge more for access to its CNN and Bleacher Report Sports add-ons, the price hikes are coming in a roundabout way targeted at subscribers to the streamer’s cheapest tier.
Max announced today that it no longer intends to charge subscribers to its Standard ($16.99/month or $169.99/year) and Premium ($20.99/month or $209.99/year) tiers an extra $9.99 a month for CNN Max and Bleacher Reports Sports. The add-ons will be removed from Max’s ad-supported tier ($9.99/month or $99.99/year) beginning on March 30th, however, meaning that subscribers will have to move up to more expensive tiers should they want to keep watching live sports and news.
Amazon Music Unlimited is getting a price hike
Illustration: The Verge
Amazon has raised the price of its Music Unlimited service in the US, Canada, and the UK, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. In an update on its website, Amazon says it’s raising the price for Prime members from $9.99 to $10.99 per month (or $99 to $109 / year), while the plan for non-Prime members is going from $10.99 to $11.99 per month.
The Unlimited Family Plan, which lets up to six people listen to music at the same time, is also increasing from $16.99 to $19.99 per month (or $169 to $199 / year). The price change went into effect for new subscribers on January 29th, 2025, while existing customers will have to pay the updated pricing when their subscription renews, or on or after March 5th, 2025.
Netflix won the streaming wars, and we’re all about to pay for it
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge
Whenever Netflix raises its prices — which seems to happen roughly as often as Ben Affleck falls in love with an A-list celebrity — the company always gives the same reason. It needs the extra money, you see, in order to keep investing in the kind of programming and product its 302 million subscribers demand. That’s how the standard monthly price of ad-free Netflix jumped from $7.99 to $17.99 over the course of the last 13 years, including a $2.50 jump just announced during the company’s recent earnings report. There’s still a $7.99 monthly plan, of course, but that one includes ads — and it’s a dollar more expensive than it was a week ago.
But let’s be real with each other. You want to know why Netflix keeps raising its prices? Because it can. Because Netflix won. The rest of the streaming industry is competing ferociously over a finite pool of money, dealing with carriage disputes because of dwindling subscriber numbers, and panicking over the future of TV. Netflix is the future of TV.
Fubo’s cheapest streaming plan is now $85 per month
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge
Fubo has raised its English-language streaming plan prices by $5 each, with a Fubo spokesperson citing “rising costs from our programming partners,” reported The Streamable yesterday. Fubo’s Essential and Pro plans now start at $85 a month, while its Elite plan has gone up to $95 monthly.
“We only make adjustments when necessary,” a Fubo spokesperson said to The Streamable, “and we’re committed to keeping Fubo competitive while ensuring our subscribers have access to the channels, features and live events they enjoy.”
Amazon’s push to make Prime Video profitable.
According to The Information, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy was annoyed by the costs of shows like LotR: The Rings of Power and Citadel and has pushed for the video service to be profitable by the end of this year. As Netflix raises prices, Prime is promoting shows from competing services and focusing more on live sports than originals.
Amazon’s betting that sports can more reliably draw audiences to the Prime Video service than new movies and shows, significantly boosting its ad revenue, according to multiple people familiar with its strategy.
Remember when Netflix was just $7.99?
The price of Netflix’s standard plan has more than doubled since 2011, with its new price hike bringing it to $17.99 / month.
Netflix is raising prices again, as the standard plan goes up to $17.99
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Netflix is raising prices yet again. In its latest earnings report released Tuesday, the streaming service announced that “we are adjusting prices today across most plans” in the US, Canada, Portugal, and Argentina.
As shown on Netflix’s plans page, the ad-supported tier is increasing from $6.99 to $7.99 per month, while the standard ad-free tier will go from $15.49 to $17.99 per month. Its highest-priced premium tier is also increasing from $22.99 to $24.99 per month. The price hikes will go into effect during subscribers’ next billing cycle, according to Netflix spokesperson MoMo Zhou.
Discovery Plus is raising its prices
Photo Illustration by Jaque Silva/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Discovery Plus is going up in price, with its ad-supported plan going from $4.99 to $5.99 per month, and its ad-free plan increasing from $8.99 to $9.99 per month. The price hike will go into effect immediately for new subscribers, while existing subscribers will see the change during their next billing cycle or after February 7th.
Discovery Plus raised the price of its ad-free plan for the first time in October 2023. Following the launch of Max, Discovery Plus remained a standalone subscription despite most of its content appearing in Warner Bros. Discovery’s flagship streaming service. Discovery Plus has a mix of shows — ranging from ultra binge-worthy to ultra cringe-worthy — from channels like HGTV, TLC, the Discovery Channel, Investigation Discovery, Magnolia Network, and others.
YouTube TV is letting some subscribers hold off that price hike
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
YouTube announced a hefty subscription price increase this week that will shoot the monthly cost up by $10 to $82.99 on January 13th for existing members (or now, if you sign up today). Some subscribers are staving off the hike using the time-honored tradition of threatening to cancel, as one Verge reader indicated in a comment on our original story about the price hike.
That’s backed up by users in a Reddit thread that 9to5Google spotted, several of whom reported getting the offer to keep paying $72.99 for six more months when they tried to cancel their subscriptions, although some report that didn’t work for them. Some who did get to keep the old price say it happened only when they logged in using a web browser on their computer and pushed through offers to pause their subscription instead.
Sling TV’s streaming TV price goes up by $5.99 next month
Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge
Sling TV is increasing its monthly subscription prices by $5.99 for all of its plans starting in December. The streaming TV provider said “rising costs” are to blame for the price hikes without specifying why — presumably, not all six of those bucks are intended to pay for its “arcade” library of interactive games that just added Pac-Man and Trivia Crack.
There are two packages: Sling Orange, which includes Disney and ESPN networks, and Sling Blue, which includes Fox and NBC programming that previously cost $40 per month, individually. Now, they will cost $45.99 per month. There’s also the combo Sling Orange plus Blue, which offers a mix of both packages for $55 per month — but will go up to $61. Current subscribers will see the price change with their billing date on or after December 20th.
GeForce Now Founders won’t be subject to Nvidia’s upcoming 100-hour-a-month data cap.
No, Founders memberships will still have unlimited playtime hours for life, as long as there is no lapse in their membership.
Also:
Founders can upgrade to Ultimate and return to their prior Founders benefits at any time without penalty, as long as there is no lapse in their payments.
YouTube Premium subscribers are reporting price hikes around the globe
Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge
YouTube is telling Premium subscribers outside the US that they’ll be paying more for the service soon, social media users began reporting over the weekend. So far, the higher prices are being reported in regions that include the EU, the Middle East, and South America, according to Android Authority.
The price increases affect both individual and family plans. In some EU countries, people have said they were told their family plans will be going from €17.99 to €25.99 (or €11.99 to €13.99 for individuals) starting on November 7th. Posts on social media are reporting similar increases in places like Singapore, Colombia, and Saudi Arabia. A Reddit user is tracking the amounts in one thread.
Disney’s password-sharing crackdown starts ‘in earnest’ this September
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge
Disney Plus will soon no longer let you share your password with people outside your household. During an earnings call on Wednesday, Disney CEO Bob Iger said the crackdown will kick off “in earnest” this September.
The timeline for Disney’s password-sharing crackdown has been a bit confusing so far. In February, Disney announced plans to roll out paid sharing and also began notifying users about the change. It then launched paid sharing in a “few countries” in June but provided no information on when it would reach the US.
The price of Disney Plus is about to go up
Image: Disney
The next phase of Disney’s plan to make its streaming services profitable is another round of price hikes served up with more news and new playlist features.
Disney is rolling out a new wave of price hikes that its subscribers will probably be none too pleased to be hit with. Beginning October 17th, individual monthly and annual plans for Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN are all going up.
Paramount Plus is getting yet another price hike
Image: Paramount
Just like it did last summer, Paramount Plus is getting ready to hike the prices on some of its streaming service subscriptions.
Paramount announced today that, beginning August 20th, the monthly costs for its Paramount Plus with Showtime, Paramount Plus Essential, and Paramount Plus with limited commercials plans will increase for all new subscribers. Paramount Plus with Showtime will now cost $12.99 a month ($1 more expensive), Paramount Plus with limited commercials will now cost $7.99 a month, and Paramount Plus Essential will now cost $7.99 a month ($2 more expensive).
Max raises prices across its ad-free plans
Photo: Cath Virginia / The Verge
Max has announced a price increase on the streaming service’s ad-free plans. The standard ad-free plan will cost $16.99 / month instead of $15.99, while the 4K ad-free plan will cost $20.99 / month instead of $19.99.
The price increase will go into effect today for new subscribers. Existing subscribers can expect to see the increase from their next billing cycle on or after Thursday, July 4th. Max’s price hike also affects the service’s ad-free yearly plans, with the standard ad-free plan going up to $169.99 / year from $149.99 and the 4K ad-free plan going up to $209.99 / year from $199.99.
A Disney, Hulu, and Max streaming bundle is on the way
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge
There’s a new streaming bundle coming to town. Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery are teaming up to offer Disney Plus, Hulu, and Max in a bundle that will become available in the US this summer.
The new bundle will include both ad-supported and ad-free options, but there’s still no word on how much it will cost. Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery say they will share “additional details” about the bundle in the “coming months.” Once available, you’ll be able to purchase the bundle from Disney Plus, Hulu, or Max’s website.
Max price hike incoming.
Ahead of Warner Bros. Discovery’s earnings report on Thursday, Bloomberg reports that the company may announce more layoffs and raise prices on its Max streaming service, which already costs $9.99 per month with ads.
Peacock is getting a $2 price increase
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Peacock is getting another price hike. Starting this summer, Peacock’s ad-supported Premium plan will go from $5.99 to $7.99 per month, and its Premium Plus plan will increase from $11.99 to $13.99 per month.
The $2 increase will take effect on July 18th for new customers, while current subscribers will see the price hike on August 17th. Meanwhile, the annual plans will cost $79.99 for Premium and $139.99 for Premium Plus. Peacock raised prices across both of its plans last year — and that was after it took away its free membership for new users.
Netflix is all about the money, not the members
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge
Netflix is moving beyond subscriber numbers. In its first quarter earnings results released on Thursday, Netflix announced that it will stop reporting quarterly membership numbers in 2025 because subscribers are “just one component” of its growth. The change comes after a quarter where it added 9.3 million subscribers, growing to more than 270 million members globally.
Subscriber count meant everything in the early days of streaming. It allows investors, studios, and everyone else to gauge just how well a streaming service is doing compared to the competition, and Netflix has leaned on its lead in that area.
What’s up with all the streaming price hikes?
We’ve written a lot about why the price of streaming services has gone up, but this video from our friends at Vox breaks it all down.
The Disney Plus password-sharing crackdown starts in June
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Disney Plus already has rules in place to prevent subscribers from sharing their passwords — but now we have an idea when it will start making users pay to share them. In an interview on CNBC, Disney CEO Bob Iger says the company plans on “launching our first real foray into password sharing” in June.
Iger says the rollout will start in “just a few countries in a few markets” before expanding to all subscribers in September. Disney’s anti-password sharing rules initially went into effect for new subscribers on January 25th and were rolled out to existing members on March 14th. Netflix became the first streaming service to crack down on password sharing in 2023, as it began charging users an extra $7.99 per month to add an extra viewer outside their household.
In 2023, everyone was shopping around on streaming services.
That’s according to data analytics firm Antenna, which reported that streaming subs grew year-over-year in 2023 — albeit more slowly than previous years — but cancellations were up by 36.2 million versus 2022, and weren’t far behind the number of new subscribers.
Nvidia’s free-tier GeForce Now will soon show ads while you’re waiting to play
Nvidia’s completely free, no-strings attached trial of its cloud gaming service GeForce Now is about to be very slightly less of a deal — on March 5th, Nvidia tells The Verge, users will start seeing ads.
They’re only for the free tier — not Priority or Ultimate — and even then, it sounds like they won’t interrupt your gameplay. “Free users will start to see up to two minutes of ads while waiting in queue to start a gaming session,” writes Nvidia spokesperson Stephenie Ngo.
Netflix confirms it’s cutting off Apple billing for legacy subscribers
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Netflix confirms to The Verge that it has begun booting longtime subscribers off their Apple iTunes billing plans in some countries and will require them to pay Netflix directly using a credit card or debit card instead. As first reported by Cord Cutter News, Netflix has begun telling customers in “some territories” that their plans would need to be switched over. Netflix spokesperson MoMo Zhou told The Verge in an email that the change affects “members on the basic plan who were using an iTunes method of payment,” and later added that this includes Canadian and US users.
It’s been a good run for anyone who signed up before Netflix stopped accepting subscriptions through Apple’s payments system. One person indicated today on X that they’d kept the streaming service’s old $9.99 price for years.
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