A new round of Q1 price hikes has led to a 37.78% price hike for rural consumers who subscribe to streaming video services. The 11th Annual Rural Subscriber Study indicates that rural Americans are now spending an average of $16.00 more per month compared to 2021.
2026 is already full of new increases for TV streamers:
- YouTube Premium – Individual Premium now costs $16 per month, up $2.
- Prime Video – Ad-free version increased from $3 to $5 per month on April 10.
- Netflix – The ad-based plan went up again in March, increasing by $1 to $9 per month. The Standard plan without ads increased by $2 to $20 per month, while the ad-free Premium plan rose by $2 to $27 per month.
- Paramount Plus – In January, the price of their Essential plan increased from $8 per month or $60 per year to $9 per month or $90 per year. Additionally, the ad-free version of Paramount Plus, called Premium, saw its monthly price rise from $13 to $14 and its annual price rise from $120 to $140.
- Sling TV – Sling has updated the rates for its Blue packages in certain regions. The price has increased in areas where at least one local ABC, Fox, or NBC station is available. Now, if you have all three local channels, the Blue package will cost an additional $9 (up from $5). If you have one or two of the local channels, there will be an extra charge of $4 (previously, there was no charge).
The era of using streaming as a loss leader to enhance brands has come to an end, as streaming costs are rising annually, if not more.
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