Apple TV, Peacock, and now Disney+ and Hulu have all raised prices since August. “Streamflation” has a number attached to it, and it’s worse than you’d guess.
ONYX NEWS STAFF — DATELINE: NEW YORK
Disney+ Premium and Hulu Premium — the ad-free tiers — both rose from $18.99 to $21.49 a month on Wednesday, a 13% jump. It’s the fourth Disney+ price increase in as many years, and it lands in the same month Apple TV raised its own ad-free monthly price from $12.99 to $14.99, and Peacock raised its ad-supported Premium plan from $10.99 to $12.99 and its ad-free Premium Plus plan from $16.99 to $19.99.
None of these increases happened in isolation. Streaming subscription prices have risen roughly three times faster than the broader inflation rate since 2022, according to industry pricing analysis — a trend the industry itself has taken to calling “streamflation.” Netflix’s premium plan remains the single most expensive individual subscription on the market at $26.99 a month, four dollars above HBO Max’s top tier.
The bundling math is deliberate: Disney’s Disney+/Hulu Premium bundle rose only $2, to $21.99 — almost exactly half of what buying the two services separately now costs. Disney’s ad-supported standalone plans rose too, from $11.99 to $12.49. The timing wasn’t incidental either: the increase landed the same day Toy Story 5 began streaming on Disney+, with a new Disney World ride tie-in following later in the week.
| THE STREAMING MATH | |
| $21.49 new Disney+/Hulu Premium (ad-free) price, up 13% | ~3x Streaming prices have outpaced inflation since 2022 |
| $26.99 Netflix Premium — still the most expensive single plan | 4th consecutive year of Disney+ price increases |
| WHY THIS MATTERS: A single company’s price hike is a business story. Four major platforms raising prices within weeks of each other, at a rate that’s measurably outpacing broader inflation, is a household-budget story — and it’s the kind of pattern that’s easy to miss if you’re only watching each announcement individually. |
| SOURCE TRANSPARENCYBloomberg, via TVLine — original pricing report, September 23; The Hollywood Reporter — “streamflation” rate analysis, September 23; Variety, ScreenRant — confirmatory pricing detail and bundle structure |
