El gasto en streaming por suscripción del estadounidense promedio alcanza casi 1.000 dólares al año

The subscription streaming spend of the average American is now close to a thousand dollars per year, according to a new report.

While more than half of subscribers have responded to recent steep price increases by cancelling at least one of their streaming subscriptions, the overall spend keeps rising …

Steep price rises for streaming services

We noted last year a consistent pattern of steep price rises for streaming subscriptions.

Apple TV+ was one of the first services to see a price rise, back in October 2022, increasing from $4.99 to $6.99 – a 40% hike.

Disney followed in December, with an increase of 25%, from $7.99 to $10.99 for Disney+ Basic. The price was increased again, to $13.99. That amounts to a total increase of 75% in less than a year!

Hulu pricing was increased at the same time, the ad-free tier rising by 20% from $14.99 to $17.99.

Warner Bros. increased HBO Max pricing from $15 to $16, and Netflix dropped the Netflix Basic tier from its lineup for new or switching subscribers, more than doubling the effective cost. 

Subscription streaming spend for US households

A report last summer said that streaming TV costs had finally overtaken cable costs, and a new survey spotted by ZDNet says that the average US subscriber now pays close to $1,000 per year.

The average American subscriber pays $924 yearly for subscriptions; that’s $77 per month. Moreover, 25% of the 5,000 surveyed subscribers pay $100 per month, and 5% pay $200 monthly.

Three further factors are at play here. First, some services have been introducing ads to their basic tiers, pushing people to upgrade.

While 57% of subscribers have canceled a subscription due to recent price hikes, 36% have upgraded a subscription after an ad-supported version launched.

Second, others have taken the opposite route, of removing ad-funded tiers, leaving only more expensive options.

Third, Netflix led a trend of streaming services cracking down on password sharing, resulting in more people opening their own accounts.

Photo by Jp Valery on Unsplash