It’s become a familiar trend in the world of streaming services, and Discovery Plus is the latest player to join the price hike party. As part of Max, Discovery Plus is preparing to implement its first-ever price increase. Subscribers of the ad-free tier, currently priced at $6.99 per month, will see their monthly bill rise by two dollars to $8.99 plus tax. If you’re already a subscriber, you can expect this increase to take effect during your next billing cycle, starting on or after November 2.
There’s a small silver lining in this cloud, though – Discovery Plus’s ad-supported tier remains unaffected, staying at a monthly cost of $4.99. This is a relief, especially when considering that rumors of global price hikes by Netflix are on the horizon.
While a two-dollar increase may not seem significant on its own, it adds to a growing issue for consumers. To access a broad range of shows and movies, subscribing to a single service is no longer sufficient. Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, and Prime Video are all raising their prices, with the average increase falling within the range of 20% to 25%. As we previously highlighted in response to Disney’s price hikes, these increases, coupled with the introduction of Disney Plus’ ad subscription in Canada and Europe, appear to be ill-timed, particularly as families face financial challenges and the entertainment industry experiences ongoing strikes by writers and actors.
The concern lies in the fact that these price hikes don’t seem to correspond with a comparable improvement in content. Having already consumed current shows and movies, there is often a lack of new and compelling content to justify the ever-rising costs. Additionally, in some cases, highly anticipated shows are not scheduled for streaming until several months later.
Consequently, many subscribers may become more selective about their streaming services in the coming months, canceling or temporarily shelving subscriptions until they offer sufficient value to justify the continuously increasing prices.
This trend could potentially have adverse consequences for the streaming industry as a whole. While services seem to be pushing one another to raise prices, their pursuit of short-term revenue may negatively impact the broader sector. It feels like we are nearing a point where many subscribers will want to suspend or cancel some of their streaming subscriptions, similar to how cable cords were cut in the past.
