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Kenzie James
ECB Publishing, Inc.

Popular streaming services have continued to raise their prices and add advertisements, returning to aspects of cable TV that consumers tried to avoid by switching to streaming.
Streaming services like Netflix came onto the market in the late 2000s and early 2010s and were a cheaper, ad-free alternative to watching cable TV. As streaming platforms grew in popularity and number, demand for cable TV decreased and media companies like Disney, HBO and NBC launched their own platforms.
While there is some overlap in the shows and movies offered on streaming services, most platforms have a unique offering, including original series that are exclusive to a particular platform. Consumers must subscribe to multiple services to watch these exclusive shows. A 2024 Forbes Home survey found that 95 percent of Americans pay for more than one streaming platform, up from 86 percent in 2023. Offering exclusive series on each platform also influenced the rise of “show chasers” – consumers who sign up for a subscription to watch a show and cancel it shortly after a series or season ends. A recent study by Antenna Research showed that 38 percent of all U.S. streaming subscribers are show chasers in 2024, compared to just three percent in 2019.
The rise of streaming services led to the current trend of “cord-cutting,” which is when consumers cancel their cable TV and subscribe to streaming services instead. Cord-cutting has negatively impacted media companies because they lose money and revenue from their cable services as consumers switch to streaming. The companies raise their prices on streaming services and add advertisements to make up for the lost cable TV revenue. Even though consumers may not like the price increases, they keep their subscriptions to streaming services. When services display advertisements before and during shows and movies, some customers are willing to pay a higher subscription fee to keep the aspect of streaming services they like. According to a survey by Forbes Home, 44 percent of Americans have experienced a price increase on their plans in the past year, and 50 percent of Americans pay the higher price for plans with no advertisements.
The services listed below have changed some of their plans over the past year or announced new changes for late summer.
: Netflix. Netflix has made numerous changes to its subscriptions over the past year, eliminating the basic package and increasing prices. The ad-free basic package at $9.99 a month increased to $11.99 in 2023 before Netflix eliminated the package altogether in early 2024. Additionally, the premium package increased from $19.99 to $22.99 a month. The standard package with ads ($6.99 a month) and the standard package without ads ($15.49 a month) remained the same price.
Peacock. Peacock announced in April that they will be raising their prices for both new and existing customers over the summer. The Premium plan with ads, which currently costs $5.99 per month, and the ad-free Premium Plus plan, which costs $11.99 per month, will both be increasing by $2.
Max. Max, formerly HBO Max, has raised its prices for the first time in 2023. In early May, Max announced that they may raise the prices of their three plans again, but the new prices have not been announced yet. The current plans are with ads ($9.99 per month), ad-free ($15.99 per month), and ultimate ad-free plans ($19.99 per month). A new bundle with Disney Plus and Hulu was also announced, coming later this year.
^ “Disney Plus”. Disney+ offers a variety of plans and bundles with other streaming services. Disney+’s basic plan costs $7.99 per month and its premium plan costs $13.99 per month, increasing from $10.99 in October 2023. The company offers duo bundles with Hulu for $9.99 or $19.99 per month and a trio bundle with Hulu and ESPN+ for $14.99 or $24.99 per month.
Amazon Prime Video. Prime Video offers consumers the ability to rent movies or shows if they don’t have a subscription. The price of the rental varies depending on the item and can range from $3 to $20. The basic Prime Video subscription costs $8.99 per month with ads, and an Amazon Prime membership that includes Prime Video costs $14.99 per month. Amazon recently introduced an additional $2.99 ​​fee for ad-free service that applies to both existing plans.
Peacock and Hulu both offer student plans for students who want to watch TV on the go. Peacock and Hulu’s student plans cost $1.99 per month including ads. Hulu also partners with Spotify and offers a Spotify Premium and Hulu student plan for $5.99 per month.