Beware of These Price Spikes for Streaming Services

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There are so many competing TV streaming services out there that it is easy to subscribe to a group without realizing how much you are actually paying for everything, especially when they start raising prices. And with Disney + increasing its monthly fee today, this is the perfect time to review the latest changes to your streaming plans, confirm how much you’re charged, and consider canceling the ones you haven’t watched enough.

Recent changes in terms of streaming TV

Disney +

Disney + has increased the cost of its subscriptions by $ 1 to $ 7.99 per month , and the annual subscription by $ 10 to $ 79.99 from today. The Disney + package, which includes Disney +, Hulu, and ESPN +, also rises from $ 12.99 to $ 13.99 per month (the ad-free version will set you back $ 18.99). The changes will affect new and existing subscribers, although in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, the price change will not take effect until 23 August.

Netflix

Netflix recently launched a software -based password-sharing prevention feature that encourages users to buy a subscription if they borrow a password from someone outside of their family. While it hasn’t seen widespread adoption, don’t be surprised if your $ 8.99 basic plan actually becomes a single stream subscription later this year.

Earlier in 2021, Netflix raised prices for its popular Standard plan (1080p and two simultaneous streams) from $ 12.99 / month to $ 13.99 / month. Its premium plan (4K video and four simultaneous streams) has also increased from $ 15.99 to $ 17.99 per month . These changes now apply to both new and old subscribers.

Paramount +

Paramount + is a new streaming TV service that replaces CBS All Access . Their ad – free service costs $ 9.99 per month , or $ 5.99 per month with ads, which is in line with CBS All Access pricing tiers. Confusingly, the cost of ad-supported ads will drop to $ 4.99 from June, but subscribers at that tier will subsequently lose access to live streaming for their local CBS affiliate.

If you were already a CBS All Access subscriber, your membership was already automatically transferred to Paramount +. If you haven’t joined yet, you can take advantage of a great deal: sign up before the end of March and you can save 50% on an annual plan with the YEAR promo code. You will also receive a monthly free trial; From April 1st, the standard free trial will be reduced to one week.

Hulu

Hulu also raised prices late last year, increasing the cost of its live streaming product from $ 54.99 to $ 64.99 a month . Option without advertising rose from 60.99 dollars to 70.99 dollars per month. Hulu’s VOD-only plans are still $ 5.99 / month with ads and $ 11.99 / month without ads.

other services

Here are the current prices for other services that you can also subscribe to:

Is it time to audit your streaming TV?

Honestly, a gradual price hike is likely to only affect your total streaming bill by a few dollars a month, even if you have more than one service (the average person has five Pay TV subscriptions during the pandemic).

But over time, these rate hikes can accumulate without you noticing as they are all based on evergreen automatic payments and annual renewals through your credit card. This means that if you want to cancel, you must do your best to opt out of the renewal. The danger is that it’s easy to overlook this increase over time, which can be significant – just look at Hulu’s live streaming plan, which has grown by $ 25 a month over the past few years. That’s a lot of money if you don’t pay attention to what is being charged.

If you’re not sure how much you spend each month on streaming TV, audit your subscription: scan your credit card or email bills for various subscription services, calculate the cost, and decide which ones to keep and which ones to cancel (for more on audits ( see this Lifehacker post ).

Since the prices for these services usually go up at the end of the year, you can set an appropriate reminder to audit your subscription annually on your calendar – this can be an easy way to save money.

This story was originally published on December 29, 2020 and updated on March 26, 2021 with new information.

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