Death by a Thousand Price Hikes
Streaming was supposed to be the affordable alternative to cable. And for a brief, glorious window from 2015-2020, it was. Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and others competed fiercely on price, subsidizing growth with investor money. Those days are decisively over.
Netflix's standard plan has gone from $12.99 to $17.99. Disney+ launched at $6.99 and now charges $15.99 (ad-free). Hulu, Max, Peacock, Paramount+, Apple TV+ — every major service has raised prices at least once, with most hiking 15-30% over three years. And the ad-free tiers, which most consumers prefer, have seen the steepest increases.
The New Cable Bundle
A household subscribing to Netflix, Disney+, Max, Hulu, and one music service (Spotify) now pays roughly $75-85/month. Add Amazon Prime ($14.99/mo) and YouTube Premium ($13.99/mo) and you're at $100+. That's approaching what a mid-tier cable package cost in 2015 — except you're managing seven apps instead of one remote.
The streaming industry has entered its 'cable-ification' phase: consolidation, price increases, bundling deals, and the return of ads. For consumers, the playbook is clear — rotate subscriptions rather than maintaining them all, use ad-supported tiers strategically, and recognize that the 'cord-cutting savings' of 2018 have largely evaporated.