Photographer: Gabby Jones / Bloomberg
Photographer: Gabby Jones / Bloomberg
The financial incentives that have led millions of Americans to abandon cable television for streaming services are rapidly disappearing.
With recent price increases on Disney + and Netflix, along with the debut of Paramount + and Discovery +, the streaming landscape is evolving rapidly. And it’s getting more expensive to assemble a top-notch transmission collection, with the cost quickly approaching the level of a traditional cable package.
Bringing together the flagship streaming services of the biggest tech and media companies, including Amazon.com Inc., AT&T Inc., Netflix Inc. and Walt Disney Co., would now cost you $ 92 a month in the US That’s about the same as a typical cable TV subscription, which S&P Global Market Intelligence estimates at $ 93.50.
That doesn’t include services like Fox Nation, which is aimed at die-hard Fox News fans, or AMC +, a medium with movies and “The Walking Dead.” It also assumes that you are willing to pay the full Netflix freight, Peacock from Comcast Corp. and Paramount + from ViacomCBS Inc., instead of the lower-end versions. Many consumers get Amazon’s service when they sign up for Prime’s shipping benefits, but the video platform alone costs $ 9.
Streaming service |
Monthly cost in the US |
|---|---|
| Amazon prime | $ 9 |
| Apple TV + | $ 5 |
| Discovery + | $ 5 |
| Disney + package | $ 20 |
| HBO Max | $ 15 |
| Netflix | $ 18 |
| Paramount + | $ 10 |
| Peacock | $ 10 |
Total |
$ 92 |
Of course, few viewers want so many streaming services, and even fewer would be able to watch all that content, but it does show the dilemma that TV lovers face. While the market is now brimming with quality programming, consumers who cut the cable risk creating a streaming package that dwarfs the cost of their old pay TV bills.
This is unlikely to lead customers into the arms of cable TV providers, but it may lead them to seek cheaper options, such as ad-supported services. AT&T plans to offer a cheaper version of HBO Max with ads in June.
“People are stacking services on top of each other – at this point, there is no end in sight,” said Steve Nason, research director at Parks Associates, a market research firm. “It was about the package. Then ungrouping. Now, people are repaying again, and it is directly affecting their wallets. “
For now, American consumers seem to delight in the choices. A typical streaming home subscribed to about four services as of January, according to Ampere Analysis. That’s more than about two in 2017, the firm estimates.
Read more: How to choose the perfect TV streaming package
A Parks Associates survey of households last year found that about a third have four or more, and less than a quarter have no streaming subscriptions.
Packing
Almost a third of households subscribe to four or more streaming services.
Source: Parks Associates Q3 2020 Survey of US Broadband Homes.
And your bills are going up. Disney +, which amassed 100 million users within 16 months of launch, will increase its price from $ 1 to $ 8 per month on Friday. The company’s first streaming package, which includes ESPN + and an ad-free version of Hulu, now costs $ 20.
Netflix, meanwhile, it raised the price of its premium plan, which has higher-resolution video, to $ 18 from $ 16 at the end of last year. His standard offer increased from $ 1 to $ 14.
Many of the television industry’s most talked-about new shows are streaming exclusively, like Disney + ‘s “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” That makes it harder to say no.
Still, a DIY pack has some major gaps, for now at least: news and sports.
The media giants are adding more sports to their streaming services, including Peacock, Paramount + and, of course, Disney’s ESPN +. The companies’ The hugely successful deal with the NFL this month involved getting more broadcasts online.
But the chance of finding the exact game you want is still low. For that, you may need to subscribe to a live TV service like YouTube TV or get a digital antenna and watch your local broadcast channels again.