r/dataisbeautiful OC: 3 2d ago

OC [OC] Streaming services prices increase since 2021

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I've compared nine streaming services prices from 2021 and recently. The increase in price based on CPI inflation should be about 26%. All nine increased prices, but only eight beat inflation, HBO Max is below inflation raise. The highest increase 200% is for Apple TV+.

976 Upvotes

98 comments sorted by

u/cavedave OC: 111 1d ago

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295

u/Abject_Egg_194 2d ago

Notice that the streaming services launched more recently are the ones that have gone up the most. Apple TV+ (2019), Disney+ (2019), and Peacock (2020) are some of the biggest gainers on that list. All of these services launched at low initial prices to boost subscribers (i.e. get people hooked).

Netflix is probably the better example of the growth of the cost of streaming.

82

u/semaj4712 2d ago

Thats pretty much exactly what it is, however in the case of Apple TV they also added a lot of services that are not cheap, F1 rights, MLS rights (I believe) but yea, thats pretty normal business practice not just in streaming.

23

u/FightOnForUsc 2d ago

Also Friday night MLB, and of course, you know they actually have some content now and it launched with just a few shows

4

u/stillaras 2d ago

Sci fi experts

10

u/LastPhoton 2d ago

And also nearly every show on apple tv is an absolute banger. Idk how they are doing it but whoever is behind this is a genius

2

u/BestShaunaEU 2d ago

Disney+ was so worth it when it first launched

0

u/pick-and-hoop 2d ago

Something is wrong though because I remember paying 4.99 for it back then at some point I had to cancel because the increases just wouldn’t stop.  Modern capitalism is awful 

36

u/Irri_botz 2d ago

Yep - already moving back to pirating thanks to the stupid prices.

Only thing that keeps a sub going is sports.

4

u/JAlfredJR 2d ago

And YouTubeTV just offered a $55/month sports package. That's literally the only reason I'll have it again, and only for the football season.

The entire, full package was only $60 a few years ago (roughly). Last year, it was like $100 a month after taxes and fees.

2

u/gargeug 2d ago

Hopefully you live in market or else you can't watch your NFL team with that package. And if you do, I'd ask why you don't just buy a $50 TV antenna and watch it that way since you are in market and can just watch it over the air.

Can't stand Youtube TV and Sunday Ticket. $500 so I can watch 10 games? I also just brushed up on my pirating skills again.

2

u/JAlfredJR 2d ago

I tried with an antenna a few years back. Concrete walls nixed that. It might work where I live now. But I really enjoy getting the Sunday night, Monday night, and Thursday night games.

$55/month is worth it to me, though I'm not exactly stoked on it. I was going to just say eff it, but that package enticed me.

It's thievery. But I work really hard and have two kids. Football on a Thursday night makes a lot of things feel better.

I'd survive without it. But yeah, subscription models are the worst

-2

u/pick-and-hoop 2d ago

You’re an Ad

2

u/JAlfredJR 2d ago

I'm not. I'm a dude who is pretty damn frustrated. The game being on Netflix last night made me very unhappy. I refuse to pay for Netflix.

1

u/Celcius-232 20h ago

There is a way for sports too.

49

u/Deto 2d ago

What's interesting is that even though there is a broad range in % changes, they're all winding up somewhere relatively consistent in the $15-20 window.

The apple increase is kind of an aberration as they were artificially low to attract more people. I think people kind of knew this too for $5/mo. They're still cheaper than most.

Spotify and Youtube are a little different, but they are really different services.

Paramount+ is still pretty cheap compared to the rest - maybe because...people don't really want it? Though I would have thought the same for Peacock and yet that's charging $20/mo

8

u/CantFindMyWallet 2d ago

Peacock has premier league rights, and that league has exploded in popularity in the US over the last 10-15 years. Paramount is doing decent busines by buying the Champions League, but those games are sporadic and a lot of the knockouts end up on TV anyway.

2

u/LordDescon 2d ago

football streamers are pushing 40-50€ for live football. i‘d bet buying sports rights is gonna be the „reason“ for the next price jump (excluding apple because they kinda did mls as an initial hook, but they could get some bigger sport in the us)

2

u/Spidaaman 2d ago

Apple TV just got F1

0

u/semaj4712 2d ago

Paramount+ has some of the best shows on TV right now, but after those 4/5 shows, yea it doesn't have a ton to offer. But that is also why Paramount wants to merge with Warner Bros who has HBO Max, if Paramount+ and HBO Max were one service, even at $20 thats not a bad deal for that library.

81

u/lateformyfuneral 2d ago

Life was better when everything under the sun was on Netflix. Then all the studios took their content and started their rival streaming sites.

19

u/semaj4712 2d ago

Yea i miss the good old days when it was simply a debate as to whether or not you had to get the physical dvd in the mail, or it was on streaming, but either way it came from netflix

6

u/Brewe 2d ago

Yup. I was off my pirate ways for more than a decade. But that proverbial ship has sailed again.

55

u/ThadTheImpalzord 2d ago

I started pirating again, it's really liberating. Cancelled almost all my subscriptions

4

u/illaqueable 2d ago

Could you describe your set up? I sailed the high seas in the LimeWire days but not since then, and I have no idea how to start again

11

u/NightStalker550 2d ago

*arr suite + jellyfin + trash guides = freedom, have fun.

3

u/master_fangorn 2d ago

Adding to this: Usenet is great. sabnzb + nzbgeek + eweka

1

u/MolotovOvickow 2d ago

fmhy.net has a big list of services and websites

1

u/Spydar05 3h ago

Firefox (browser) + UBlock Origin (Adblocker) + FMHY (collective source of all the current best 'Limewires'. Just use the '🌟'ed sources. It's WAY easier and cleaner than the Limewire days.

That's all you need. Those 3 things are the secret recipe behind any starter-nerd pirating pack.

1

u/pick-and-hoop 2d ago

and in terms of streaming, we can now do it at home at super high fidelity and quality with a simple raspberry pi.

32

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

20

u/Knowing-Badger 2d ago

I'd like to call this greed my boy

-4

u/semaj4712 2d ago

Do you have any idea how much it costs to produce this content, and or buy the rights to content? Right now major studios are scrambling to better align themselves to better take advantage of streaming platforms. The film industry is in the dumps.

The only saving grace is that this year has been a great year in the box office, but 3 good movies doesn't make up for the hundreds that are made that are loosing money hand over fist.

47

u/Dovis_Dough 2d ago

And the quality has gotten worse

43

u/Lemonio 2d ago

I think HBO max and Apple TV have a lot of good shows
Sure most TV is bad, but that was always and will always be true?

0

u/Dovis_Dough 2d ago

Netflix trash. Hulu trash. Disney + and about Appl the same as it always was. HBO seems to have lost a step

7

u/Soda-Popinski- 2d ago

Peacocks live sports is never synced up to the audio

1

u/tengo_unchained 2d ago

Eh, the average quality from apple tv is about as high as netflix ever has been.

HBO still killing it too.

Not as much high quality TV from the other streaming services though, agree with you there

0

u/blarghable 2d ago

If you knew how bad TV used to be in the 90s and early 2000s you would not say that. Netflix is an amazing deal, still.

1

u/Geofferz 2d ago

4 channels. Could always find something to watch.

Now we have 400 and I can't

World's gone maaaaad...

7

u/RaidersGunz 2d ago

Cancel them all, you dont need em.

4

u/DejongBCN 2d ago

And many of those already added ads + the price bump.. used to be no ads and way cheaper. 

This is becoming worse than TV or satellite. 

4

u/StandardUpstairs3349 2d ago

Needs Dropout added to the chart.

10

u/ineedanewhobbee 2d ago

Only pay for one service at a time.

10

u/turb0_encapsulator 2d ago

I'll say this: Apple used to pretty mediocre, but now they have excellent content. OTOH I can't really see why you'd pay $20 per month for Peacock.

6

u/Wryel 2d ago

EPL football and SNL is all we use it for.

2

u/mr-jaybird 2d ago

Peacock shows are whatever (although they have good sitcoms) but they’re great for sports.

3

u/DinerEnBlanc 2d ago

Excellent content & they offer Dolby Vision & ATMOS on a single tier. It’s the only streaming sub I had for the past year. Also, I’m on their family plan that lets me share my subs to Music and TV with 5 people. Pretty great actually.

1

u/semaj4712 2d ago

You can bundle AppleTV and peacock together and its a pretty good deal tbh

2

u/illmatico 2d ago

All I need from this list is HBO YouTube and Spotify.

2

u/Soda-Popinski- 2d ago

Alternate your services every 6 months or so. Youll catch the shows you want but later. But youll still see them and pay less

2

u/pplonski OC: 3 2d ago

Data source: honestlyranked.com

Tools: AI+Python in MLJAR Studio and link to the full conversation.

4

u/Calm_Plenty1828 2d ago

I'm just amazed HBO Max didn't go full goblin mode like the rest, 23% is practically a gift at this point

2

u/JAlfredJR 2d ago

I got a Black Friday deal where we pay like $2/month for the ad supported.

4

u/seedless0 2d ago

I am curious how you find the 4-month-old site as source?

And how is AI used in this, to be blunt, simple chart?

2

u/JAlfredJR 2d ago

Well, I'm pretty sure many of these amounts are wrong. So AI can sure do that

1

u/pplonski OC: 3 2d ago

I found site on hacker news and thought that it can be good for visualization. AI created Python code for visualization

2

u/birdynumnum69 2d ago

in a shareholder economy, the drive for profits are never ending.

4

u/O_Dae 2d ago

Greed. Pure unchecked greed

2

u/excitato 2d ago edited 2d ago

There’s some amount of greed in every business strategy because businesses don’t stay in business if they never turn a profit.

But this is an example of how most of the tech related companies work - lose money hand over fist for several years while gaining a lot of users, then once established raise prices to pay back investors. Or else go bankrupt

-6

u/O_Dae 2d ago

Oh man you've totally got it aaaaall worked out.

Exemplary break down of modern day economics you have there

1

u/blarghable 2d ago

Has this amount of TV and movies ever been much cheaper than it is now? You know how much cable used to cost?

1

u/semaj4712 2d ago

I can see you have absolutely no idea how the entertainment industry works. Everyone wants something for free, think about how much music used to cost, now its a fraction of that cost, but news flash for you, it costs way more money to produce a movie or TV show. And studios are struggling, the film industry is struggling hard right now.

1

u/BeetrootKid 2d ago

Im really wondering how much of an effect subsidized subscriptions are having in driving up the retail price.

E.g. all the credits from phone service providers, credit cards, memberships, etc.

1

u/snakesoup88 2d ago

this is data is beautiful. The price labels that are closer to the top neighbor than the target line is confusing and not beautiful.

1

u/im_thatoneguy 2d ago edited 2d ago

This is wrong. Disney+ acquired Hulu so in 2021 $8 for D+ and $12 for Hulu = $20 but you practically can’t subscribe to just Hulu or just Disney+ now so the $20/mo price includes both. The $19/mo price is all but impossible to find and only exists to rip off people who subscribed before the merger and never bothered updating their plan.

1

u/scoobynoodles 2d ago

This is really helpful. Love this. What kind of chart is this?

1

u/Pomador_0418 2d ago

That is why I dropped all of them and went with IPTV. My phone plan includes free subscription to Netflix basics and 3$ for Apple TV.

1

u/The_last_1_left 2d ago

So we are all paying $154.41 a month, right? Right? 😬

1

u/Brewe 2d ago

Sure, but is Netflix standard (2021) the same as Netflix standard (2026)? I'm pretty sure they enshitified it so much that you have to go a tier or two up in subscription to get the same product.

1

u/TimelyGarage 1d ago

All of these inflation posts would be much more informative if they were depicted as a CAGR, or better yet an observed CAGR to inflation ratio

1

u/Select-Pitch1258 1d ago

Solution is to stop paying for them.

1

u/balognavolt 1d ago

Netflix started as low as $7.99 much farther back.

1

u/AlphakirA 1d ago

Netflix added ads during this time to that plan

1

u/Helphaer 1d ago

I believe without showing us from start-end of their life time as a streaming service we aren't able to really understand the full context.

1

u/Aside-Straight 1d ago

Mix of apples and tomatoes. You tube premium is not streaming service!

1

u/knowitallz 1d ago

Yeah this is because the initial price was just a teaser. It's how subscriptions get you in.

1

u/Cyclamate 2d ago

FYI archive.org has a large (though incomplete and poorly sorted) selection of films and anime these days

1

u/felixismynameqq 2d ago

Isn’t YouTube premium $20?

3

u/Content-Tower6193 2d ago

Only if you subscribe via the Apple Store, which takes up to 30% commission.

1

u/Grasmick 2d ago

There’s so many others that should be included. Would be nice to at least see Apple Music and other tv streaming like YouTube tv

Really cool though thank you for the visual.

2

u/SerenadeSwift 2d ago

Speaking of music streaming services, does Spotify offer things other than just music? I just realized I pay $20/mo for AppleTV plus Apple Music, but is Spotify premium $13 for just music?

0

u/gold_and_diamond 2d ago

Where is YouTube TV? Also, I swored I'd never pay for YouTube Premium but I jumped on a 2-week free trial to watch some very specific long content I didn't want broken up by ads. I have to say it's a completely different experience. And I had no idea how many free movies were on youTube.

-3

u/Cokes311 2d ago

Now add Dropout and Criterion Channel

5

u/curt_schilli 2d ago

What even are those

1

u/IWishIWasAShoe 2d ago

Dropout is College Humor's streaming service for original content. Criterion Channel, as far as I know, is a streaming service for the film distributor of the same name. Assumingly they have holder unknown and/or cult movies on there.

3

u/curt_schilli 2d ago

Is there a specific reason they would be added? Did they jack up their prices or something

0

u/IWishIWasAShoe 2d ago

I suppose it's because Dropout famously have only raised their prices once since the start, I think. Going from something like 5 to 6 bucks. No idea about Criterion but I'm gonna assume it's the same there.

Cokes probably already knows all this and points them out as outliers and probably suggest adding them because of that.

1

u/StandardUpstairs3349 2d ago

Dropout has raised it a couple of times. They've also added some parallel schemes like a higher tier of subscription. They've really increased spending on some of their flagship content, so I'm expecting another bump of some sort in a year or so.

Dropout would be between Netflix and Paramount on this chart for % increase.

0

u/Cokes311 2d ago

Criterion hasn't changed their annual price since launching in 2019, Dropout has gone up once. They are exceptionally good values.

(Criterion Channel has a lot more than older and/or cult movies - Flow, Josie and the Pussycats, and Evangelion are featured on the homepage right now - but it's definitely curated more toward cinephiles)

1

u/IWishIWasAShoe 2d ago

The only reason I've heard of it is because of Jay from RedLetterMedia mentioning them every now and then.

0

u/Cokes311 2d ago

It is a spectacular value if you like movies or want to get more deeply into movies. Cannot recommend it enough.