Are we going back to the cable days?

Streaming was supposed to free consumers from cable’s woes — high monthly prices, tons of ads, and unnecessary programming.

But recent developments at the biggest streaming services are starting to reveal a different reality, per Bloomberg.

Streaming services…

… are making price increases a regular occurrence:

• Netflix raised the monthly price on its standard plan to $15.49/mo. in January, its third increase since 2019.
• Disney recently announced upcoming increases for Disney+, ESPN+, Hulu, and its bundle after already raising prices multiple times since launching in 2019

Both platforms also announced ad-supported plans at a lower cost.

But not so fast

In July, streaming surpassed cable consumption for the first time. Even so, the median price American consumers pay for streaming is $20-$30 per month, a far cry from the $79/mo. the average cable plan costs.

So, while costs are adding up, you’d have to subscribe to pretty much every platform to pay more than you would for cable.