Streaming prices have jumped more than three times the rate of inflation since 2022, turning “cutting the cord” into a collection of auto-drafting subscriptions that now rival the worst cable and satellite hikes of the past.
Watching all eight major streamers without ads or bundle deals costs about $151 a month. Four years ago the same lineup ran about $90.
- Apple TV has tripled since its 2019 launch at $4.99, a 200 percent increase despite one of the thinnest libraries among major services.
- Disney+ launched at $6.99 with no ads in 2019 and now charges $11.99 with ads—or 172 percent more than its original price.
- Paramount+’s cheapest tier is up 80 percent in five years.
- Netflix Premium has risen 125 percent since 2013.
In the past year alone: Apple TV jumped 50 percent and Peacock’s tiers rose about the same.
HBO Max is the outlier, up only 23 percent over six years. It launched in 2020 at a higher price than rivals and has long been sold as a premium product. Even so, HBO Premium now costs only $3 more than Peacock Premium Plus.
A Hollywood Reporter analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows cable and satellite prices rose an annual average of 3.9 percent (excluding a late-1980s deregulation spike that hit 14 percent).
Consumer prices overall have climbed 3.84 percent a year since 2019—double the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target—for a cumulative 33 percent increase in the cost of living. Streaming’s 10-to-15-percent annual bumps compound far faster.
Fully loaded cable and satellite bundles from Spectrum and DirecTV still cost more than $170 a month, so they are not a bargain unless you are a heavy sports viewer or a dedicated Hallmark Channel fan.