Advanced Television

Study: ‘Streamflation’ is unrelenting

September 19, 2024

FinanceBuzz conducted a study analysing the monthly prices for both standard and premium streaming subscribers over the 20 years since the services were first launched. The study tracked the pricing changes of Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, Max, Netflix, Prime Video and Apple TV+ in the US.

It begins with Hulu’s launch in 2007, which did not start charging a subscription fee until 2010. Since then, every platform that came after began charging a subscription fee at launch. Of the eight services reviewed, Netflix leads the competition in price hikes, with seven since 2011.

Some other key takeaways reported in cordcutternews:

Netflix’s standard (94 per cent increase) and premium (92per cent) subscriptions have nearly doubled in price since their release. Netflix premium is the most expensive plan of any platform – $2 more expensive than the current cost for Max’s Ultimate Ad-Free tier

While Apple TV+ has doubled in price since 2019, it’s the only platform that doesn’t require a premium subscription to avoid ads.

Prime Video is the only platform whose standard subscription price hasn’t changed since its launch.

Paramount+ and Hulu were the only two services that decreased prices since their launch before returning to the original price and increasing, respectively.

Netflix Premium is the most expensive plan of the eight studied, and nearly double the price of the $11.98 commercial-free Prime Video plan.

Next month, Disney digital services (Hulu, Hulu + Live TV, Disney+, and ESPN+) and DirecTV Stream are increasing their prices.

Categories: Articles, Markets, Premium, Research, VOD

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