Some streamers have increased prices by as much as 300% in recent years. What recourse do customers have? Have heart, streaming fans. While price increases are continuing at major streaming services, recent data suggests that the size of each rate hike is decreasing. That knowledge offers small comfort, however, in the face of the fact that Apple TV subscriptions have tripled in price in the past seven years. Streaming is rising at a higher rate than inflation, and it puts the onus on customers to adapt if they want to insulate themselves against the worst effects. Key Details: Increases everywhere: Streamers have jumped anywhere from 23% to 300% in price in the past seven years. Outpacing cable: Streaming inflation is rising higher than cable ever did. What to do?: Viewers have options to save money, but they are increasingly unattractive.. 7-Day Free Trial $14.99+ / month apple.com Apple TV is one of the most recent streamers to raise prices. At the end of August, Apple TV hiked rates to $15 per month or $119 per year. Since launching in 2019, Apple TV has tripled in price from $5 to $15 per month, and it’s hardly alone in raising rates so dramatically. Data compiled by The Hollywood Reporter shows that many streamers have hiked their rates by more than 100% in recent years. Disney+ ’s cheapest plan is now 172% more expensive than when the streamer launched, and also now comes with ads. Netflix ’s Premium plan has gone up by 125% since 2013. HBO Max is one of the few outliers, having increased in price by only 23% in the past six years. Collectively, streaming prices industry-wide have risen by 11.8%. In 2023, streaming prices rose by 17%, the largest single-year jump recorded thus far. THR’s analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that cable and satellite prices never rose that fast; the index peaked at 14% in the late 1980s, when cablers were the beneficiaries of a wave of deregulation that allowed them to begin charging more. Consumer prices have climbed by an average of 3.84% annually since 2019, meaning that streaming inflation is wildly outpacing inflation in general. Live TV streaming services are trying to give viewers more options by offering smaller, cheaper channel packages as an alternative to stacking top streamers, but the cost of a premium package at a service like DIRECTV or Fubo can still exceed $110 per month or more. So, how can customers fight back against unyielding price increases? There are options available, but many of them are less than ideal. For example, viewers can sign up for ad plans to try to save money; typically, ad-supported plans cost between $4 and $7 less per month than ad-free ones. But platform decay is also creeping into streaming ads, as viewers are now seeing almost 20% more ads per hour than they were at the start of 2026. The biggest edge streaming customers still have in the battle against price creep is the ability to cancel their subscription any time, instead of being locked into a long-term contract as in the cable days of old. But watching a title or two and then canceling a subscription puts the onus on the viewer to remember to cancel in the first place, and that isn’t a given. Recent data from SelfFinancial found that the average person has 2.6 subscriptions they’re paying for but not using each month. At the risk of showing my age, an over-the-air antenna is a viable solution for saving money in this age of entertainment. If you like watching local channels like ABC , CBS , The CW , Fox , NBC , and PBS for the news, sports, and entertainment that can be found there, buying an antenna for a one-time cost of $40 can negate the need for at least two or three streaming subscriptions each month. Unfortunately, customers who have grown accustomed to having streaming services in their lives have also had to make their peace with price increases to some degree. Gradual, continuous increases have left viewers feeling helpless as they try to preserve access to their favorite content, and it may take a mass audience revolt to get such increases to stop. 7-Day Trial apple.com Apple TV Apple TV (formerly known as Apple TV+) is a subscription video streaming service for $14.99 per month, offering a growing slate of original series, films, documentaries, and specials. Unlike other platforms that combine licensed titles with originals, Apple TV is built entirely around exclusive programming, making it the home of critically acclaimed hits such as “Ted Lasso,” “Severance,” “The Morning Show,” and “Silo.” Its lineup continues to expand with award-winning dramas, comedies, family-friendly shows, and blockbuster original films like “CODA,” which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. ... In October 2025, Apple TV agreed to a deal with Formula 1 to exclusively broadcast all Formula 1 races starting with the 2026 season. Apple TV also features coverage of all regular-season matches for Major League Soccer (MLS) at no additional cost. On August 28th, 2026, the price of Apple TV was increased from $12.99 per month to $14.99 per month , the second increase in as many years. The service is available worldwide through the Apple TV app, which is built into Apple devices and supported on most smart TVs, streaming players like Roku and Fire TV, game consoles, and web browsers. Subscribers can watch on demand, download episodes and movies for offline viewing, and stream in 4K with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, where available. Apple TV also offers family sharing, allowing up to six people to use one subscription at no extra cost. With a competitive monthly price and bundles available through Apple One — which combines Apple TV with Apple Music, Apple Arcade, iCloud storage, and more — the service continues to grow as a key part of Apple’s ecosystem. Apple TV delivers one of the strongest collections of exclusive content in the streaming space for viewers seeking prestige originals, cinematic storytelling, and seamless access across devices. 7-Day Trial $14.99+ / month apple.com