Netflix and other streaming giants are jacking up subscription prices — and some couch potatoes say they’ve had enough.
Scores of cord-cutters have taken to Reddit to vent their anger at shelling out $26.99 a month for Netflix and more than $22.99 for ad-free HBO Max — a far cry from what the services were charging when they debuted.
“I’m done with the constant price hikes. After years of loyalty, I’m out,” one Netflix user wrote on Reddit earlier this week after canceling.
The unnamed Reddit user attached a screenshot of his membership cancellation.
“I can’t justify paying $30 a month,” another user griped, referring to Netflix’s premium tier.
The frustration comes as Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Max and other platforms have all raised prices over the past year, pushing monthly streaming costs closer to and even beyond traditional cable bills.
Late last month, Netflix, the industry leader, raised the price of its premium tier to $26.99 a month, up from $24.99 — while its standard plan climbed to $19.99 from $17.99 and its ad-supported tier rose to $8.99 from $7.99.
That was after HBO Max, the Warner Bros. Discover-owned platform, hiked its Premium plan in October to $22.99 a month, up from $20.99.
Its Standard tier increased to $18.49 from $16.99 and its Basic with Ads plan rose to $10.99 from $9.99.
Disney+ has also steadily raised prices. Last fall, the service announced that its Premium ad-free tier would be costing $18.99 a month, up from $15.99, while its ad-supported option climbed to $11.99 from $9.99.
“Just about every major streaming service” has raised prices over the past year, Kourtnee Jackson, a senior editor at CNET, told The Post.
Companies claim the increases are needed to cover rising costs, including expensive content and technology upgrades, Jackson said, noting that streaming platforms are investing heavily in live sports, gaming and new features.
Jackson said that one way consumers are coping with the increased fees is canceling subscriptions and later resubscribing when there’s a trendy new show out — a “rotation method” to save money.
Last summer, Peacock delivered one of the steepest increases, hiking Premium Plus to $16.99 a month from $13.99, while its Premium ad-supported plan jumped to $10.99 from $7.99 — a roughly 38% surge for entry-level subscribers.
In August of last year, Apple TV+ also raised prices sharply, boosting its flat monthly fee to $12.99 from $9.99, a roughly 30% increase with no lower-cost ad-supported option available.
Shortly thereafter, Hulu, which is often bundled with Disney+, raised the price of its ad-supported plan to $11.99 a month, up from $9.99, while keeping its ad-free tier at $18.99.
Following the Netflix hike, another Reddit user added: “It feels like they just assume we’ll swallow it.” Others said they were canceling multiple services altogether.
Amazon’s Prime Video has taken a different approach. Last month, it kept its base Prime membership at $14.99 a month but raised the cost of its ad-free add-on to $4.99 from $2.99, effectively charging users extra to remove ads.
An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment. The Post has sought comment from the other streaming companies.
Jackson said consumers looking to cut costs should consider bundling services wherever possible.
“Bundles are the biggest thing right now,” she said, noting that some packages combine multiple platforms at a lower price than subscribing individually.
Disney and its streaming partners, for example, offer bundles combining Disney+, Hulu and Max for roughly $20 to $30 a month depending on whether users opt for ad-supported or ad-free plans — often cheaper than subscribing to each service individually.
Wireless carriers are also getting in on the action. Some T-Mobile and Verizon plans include subscriptions to services like Netflix, Hulu or Apple TV+ as part of monthly packages, while Verizon offers a discounted add-on bundling Netflix and Max for about $10 a month.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
