Is streaming video even still worth it? – By Devindra Hardawar (Engadget) / Oct 27, 2023
Netflix, Apple TV+, Hulu and Amazon won’t stop hiking streaming prices, but it’s still better than cable.
When Netflix first unveiled its streaming video service in 2007, it felt like a miracle. Netflix’s DVD customers in the US, who were paying between $5.99 to $17.99 a month, instantly had access to 1,000 movies over a web browser. No more waiting for DVDs in the mail, no ads like TV – just hit a button and watch. Instantly! Now that seems like ages ago. Netflix’s most premium 4K streaming plan now costs $23 a month, while its standard subscription without ads costs $15.49 a month. (There is a standard plan with ads for $6.99 a month, but that doesn’t support offline downloads and also doesn’t include some content.)
Netflix has also been cracking down on account sharing recently, which is great for its overall earnings and subscriber count, but bad for anyone trying to save a buck. You’ll have to pay an extra $7.99 a month to add more member slots to the standard and premium plans.
And it’s not just Netflix. Over the past year, just about every major streaming service has raised its prices considerably. Apple TV+ is doubling its original price to $10 a month ($99 annually). Disney+ saw a hefty increase as well to $14 a month for its ad-free premium tier. For those who subscribe to multiple services, it’s easy to think we’re back in the bad old days of cable TV, where we ended up spending gobs of money for hundreds of channels.
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