Apple hiked the price of its TV+ streaming service by $2 a month, the latest in a wave of increases hitting consumers from nearly every major platform this year.
The company raised Apple TV+ to $14.99 per month, up from an implied $12.99, and bumped its annual plan by $20 to $119.99. Apple's bundled Apple One individual plan also went up $2, to $21.95 a month. Existing subscribers will get one month's notice before the new rates kick in, The Hollywood Reporter reported.
Apple did not name a spokesperson or executive behind the announcement and offered no formal public explanation for the increase. But the move comes as the company expands its content slate and recently acquired U.S. streaming rights for Formula 1 racing, the kind of live sports programming that drives costs up fast.
Apple is not acting alone. Peacock raised its own prices earlier in the month, timed to the return of NBA and NFL coverage. ESPN plans to hike streaming rates next month. Prime Video, Netflix, and YouTube Premium have all pushed prices higher this year.
The pattern is unmistakable. Streaming was sold to American households as the affordable alternative to bloated cable bundles. Consumers cut the cord in droves. Now, one service at a time, the bills are creeping back toward the cable-era totals that drove people away in the first place.
Apple justified its growing price tag in part by pointing to its expanding lineup. Ted Lasso recently returned after a long hiatus, and the platform is promoting Widow's Bay as its most Emmy-nominated new series of the year. Add Formula 1 to the mix, and Apple is clearly spending more to compete, and passing the tab to subscribers.
Two dollars a month does not sound like much. But consumers juggling four or five streaming subscriptions, and most households do, are watching those "small" increases stack. A $2 hike here, a $3 bump there, and the monthly total starts to rival the old cable bill, minus the single remote.
Apple gave existing subscribers a one-month grace period before the new pricing takes effect. Whether other tiers of the Apple One bundle, family plans and higher, face similar increases remains unclear. Apple did not say.
No one forced consumers to sign up, and no one is stopping them from canceling. That is how markets work. But the broader trend tells a story about an industry that lured millions of customers with low introductory pricing, locked in viewing habits, and now raises the rent because it can.
Cord-cutting was supposed to put consumers in charge. Streaming inflation is a reminder that the companies always find a way to catch up.