Four Hikes in Four Years
It is the fourth increase in four years for the service formerly known as Apple TV+, and a milestone of sorts: the monthly fee has now tripled from the $4.99 launch price of 2019, when Apple was buying its way into streaming with a thin catalog and aggressive pricing.
The bundle is going up too. Apple One's individual tier, which packages Apple TV with Apple Music, iCloud+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+ and Apple Fitness+, rises from $19.95 to $21.95 per month.
Everyone Is Doing It
Apple's move follows what has become a streaming-industry ritual. Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+ and YouTube Premium have all raised prices within the last two years; Peacock did it earlier this month, and ESPN's streaming prices go up September 17. The era of loss-leader streaming pricing is over across the board, and subscribers are footing the correction.
Apple's justification is the catalog it built along the way: more than 300 originals, up from a handful at launch. The roster now spans comedies "Ted Lasso," "The Studio" and "Shrinking," this year's most-Emmy-nominated freshman series "Widow's Bay," dramas "Severance," "Pluribus" and "The Morning Show," and films including the Oscar-winning "CODA" and "F1: The Movie," the highest-grossing sports movie ever at the global box office. Live sports round it out: Formula 1, Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer.
What Comes Next
For subscribers the math is familiar: $2 more a month, or $24 a year, with the annual plan now the only meaningful discount. The open question is the same one facing every streamer that keeps raising prices: at what point does the ritual start costing more subscribers than it earns. So far, the industry's answer has been to keep testing.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How much does Apple TV cost now?
- $14.99 per month or $119 per year in the US, up from $12.99 and $99. The change is effective August 28 for new subscribers; existing ones get about a month's notice.
- Did Apple One prices change too?
- The individual plan rose from $19.95 to $21.95 per month. It bundles Apple TV, Apple Music, iCloud+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+ and Apple Fitness+.
- How much has Apple TV's price risen since launch?
- It has tripled: from $4.99 per month at launch in 2019 to $14.99 now, across four increases in four years.
- Are other streaming services raising prices?
- Yes. Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+ and YouTube Premium have all raised prices in the past two years, Peacock did this month, and ESPN raises streaming prices September 17.
