Streamflation is in full effect.
In just seven years, the price of Apple TV has tripled.
The multinational tech brand launched Apple TV — now home to “The Morning Show,” “Severance,” and “Silo” — back in 2019 when users were charged a modest $4.99. Cut to 2026, where the company now charges $14.99 per month — or $119 a year.
The move comes just one year after Apple quietly jacked up its streaming price from $9.99 to $12.99.
The “Ted Lasso” platform isn’t the only offender; major streaming giants are all ratcheting up their prices, leaving customers with nearly no affordable options. Netflix announced one of its largest price hikes back in March, with all tiers seeing new fares.
Its ad-supported plan went from $7.99 to $8.99, its Standard increased from $17.99 to $19.99, while the Premium went from $24.99 to $26.99.
The industry leader — which has over 325 million subscribers — scrapped its cheapest ad-free plan, called basic, in 2023, forcing couch potatoes to cough up the extra cash for its more expensive plans.
Peacock gave subscribers something to screech about after announcing its latest price increase, with multiple tiers jumping. Premium users will see a boost from $10.99 to $12.99 and Premium Plus customers from $16.99 to $19.99 — a $3 monthly increase on the ad-free plan.
For new and returning subscribers, the cost went into effect on August 18. For current subscribers, the increased prices will be on their next billing date — after September 17.
Back in January, Paramount+ raised both of its plans by $1, bringing the Essential plan to $8.99 and its Premium to $13.99.
Amazon Prime Video also enraged users after pushing prices of its ad-free option from $2.99 to $4.99 per month. However, the company kept the underlying Prime membership at $14.99.
Disney is also quietly increasing prices on its legacy streaming bundle, raising the monthly price from $24.99 to $27.99. Users will spot the change on September 17.
Legacy packages are no longer offered and are reserved for users who got in before August 20 and kept their accounts active ever since. The package includes Disney+ (Ad-free), Hulu (With ads) and ESPN Select (With ads).
Back in October, HBO Max, the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned platform, jacked up its Premium plan by $2, now charging users $22.99 a month, up from $20.99.
Users flooded social media to rage against the streamers, with one X user calling the platforms a scam.
“Didn’t even give them a warning? Wake up. Streaming services are becoming a scam. How much are you going to pay to sit around and watch TV?” The angry user said in a post.
Another called out Apple TV directly, claiming the price doesn’t justify the content, writing, “Not enough content for $15 a month.”
A third commented on how “Streaming was sold as the cheap alternative to cable,” but quickly turned into sneaky, multiple price increases.
“The industry spent years burning cash to undercut cable pricing and acquire subscribers, and now that the subscribers are locked in and the competition is dead, the prices go up. Every year. And nobody’s cancelling because the shows they want are spread across six different apps,” the user added.
