Name: Streaming service prices jumped nearly 20% in month, BLS finds
Uploaded: 2026-01-14T21:19:11.509Z
Duration: 2 min 34 s
Description: Subscriptions for streaming services saw a nearly 20% jump in prices between November and December, new data from the Labor Department shows. That includes streaming services like Netflix, Disney Plus and Paramount Plus.

Subscriptions for streaming services saw a nearly 20% jump in prices between November and December, new data from the Labor Department shows. That includes streaming services like Netflix, Disney Plus and Paramount Plus.

According to new data from the U.S. Labor Department, subscription video streaming prices increased by nearly 20% from November to December. This sharp rise affects major platforms such as Netflix, Disney Plus, and Paramount Plus, while traditional cable and live TV services saw only a 1.1% increase in the same period.

Industry experts attribute the surge to streaming services raising prices to achieve profitability and the rising costs of sports content. Consumers are advised to look for bundled deals from cable companies and streaming platforms to help offset these increases.

Streaming service prices jumped nearly 20% in month, BLS finds

Inflation may have held steady in December, but one particular category saw prices soar. New data from the Labor Department shows subscriptions, video prices saw a nearly 20% jump in prices between November and December. That includes streaming services like Netflix, Disney Plus, and Paramount Plus. We should note, Paramount Skydance is the parent company of CBS News. By comparison, cable, satellite, and live streaming television services, such as YouTube TV and Sling TV rose by just 1.1%. A Hollywood Reporter senior editor, Alex Weprin, wrote about the streamflation phenomenon in a recent piece, tackling the reasons behind the rising costs, and Alex joins me now in Studio 57. So thank you so much for being here. I mean, this is certainly something I think that we all can relate to. We're like, we're paying how much for all of this? But why are these, why are they increasing at such a steady clip? Yeah, there are a few factors at play here. So first of all, a lot of these services launched within the last five years or so, and I think when they launched, they were actually priced artificially low. They launched with a low price to try and get as many subscribers as possible, and I think they're now catching up, realizing that they have to raise prices in order to make them profitable. The other piece is sports. A lot of these services have really leaned on sports in the last few years, and while sports are a great driver of subscribers and viewership, they're expensive, and they've caused the price of everything to go up. And also, if you're a sports fan, if you're an NFL fan or NBA fan, if you want to watch all your games, you have to subscribe now to more services than you did previously. Do you think that this 19.5% bump is expected to last? Unfortunately, I think it might get worse before it gets better. That might be a one-time blip, the 19%, but I do think overall prices are going to keep rising. For example, Paramount Plus is actually raising prices this week. You're going to see other streaming services raise prices this year, I suspect. It might not be linear. Some months might be steady, but I think overall the prices are going to keep going up for a while. And so what's your advice to people? I mean, are you finding people are trying to go back to cable? Is there a deal to be had there? There are a few things you can do. One interesting thing that some cable companies are doing, like Charter, is they're bundling streaming services with their pay TV services. So if you pay for cable TV, they might throw in Disney Plus and HBO Max for free. The other thing you can do is kind of seek out opportunistic bundles. So a lot of these services now kind of are teaming up to offer discounts if you buy multiple subscriptions at once. That's a way to kind of lower your overall cost, even if, in general, the prices continue to rise. Okay, Alex Weprin, thank you so much. Thank you.

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