Once celebrated for their convenience and diverse content, streaming services are increasingly becoming a financial burden for households as subscription fees rise. Companies are raising prices to recover the significant costs of acquiring and retaining subscribers.
According to the Korea Daily’s research, Disney+ has increased the monthly price of its ad-supported plan to $9.99, a 25% hike from its $7.99 launch price in 2022. The ad-free Disney+ Premium plan has risen dramatically from $6.99 in 2019 to $15.99 today, an increase of approximately 129%.
Netflix, too, has adjusted its offerings, introducing a $6.99-per-month ad-supported plan in 2023 while discontinuing its $9.99 Basic plan, leaving the Standard plan—now priced at $15.49, up from $13.99 in 2019—as the most affordable ad-free option.
This trend of rising fees reflects an industry-wide push for profitability. Warner Bros. Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels has acknowledged that streaming services are raising prices across the board, with the financial burden inevitably falling on consumers. However, there are practical ways to mitigate these costs.
Switching to annual plans is one effective strategy. For instance, Amazon Prime costs $14.99 per month, but its annual subscription is $139, saving $40.88. Similarly, Hulu’s ad-supported plan is $9.99 per month but drops to $99.99 annually, saving $19.89. YouTube Premium and Disney+ offer similar annual discounts, saving users $27.89 and $31.89 respectively.
Applying this approach across multiple services can result in significant cumulative savings—potentially up to $120 per year for households that use several streaming platforms.
Another way to cut costs is by utilizing discounts offered through mobile carrier plans. Many providers include free or discounted streaming services as part of their packages.
Verizon, for example, offers unlimited plan subscribers the option to pay \$10 per month for a bundle that includes services like the Disney+ bundle (Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+) or a combination of HBO Max (ad-supported) and Netflix.
T-Mobile provides Netflix and Apple TV+ for free on certain plans, though it now offers the ad-supported Netflix version instead of the ad-free Basic plan previously included. By exploring these annual subscriptions and bundled mobile carrier offers, consumers can offset rising costs and make streaming services more affordable.
BY HOONSIK WOO [woo.hoonsik@koreadaily.com]
