Fury as Netflix rival hikes prices by 40%... making it more expensive than other streamers
NBCUniversal, the corporate media conglomerate that operates Peacock, said it is raising prices for new subscribers, starting Wednesday, July 23.
Peacock users that have an ad-tier subscription will remain locked into their $7.99 a month price if they purchase the account before the change.
But in five days, new subscribers will pay $10.99 for the ad-tier, a nearly 40 percent increase.
The premium plus plan will now be priced at $16.99 per month.
The company will also pilot a 'Select' tier that will maintain a $7.99 monthly price, but limit customers to next-day NBC and Bravo entertainment content, like Housewives and SNL.
But the lower-cost tier won't give users access to popular programs like Sunday Night Football, The Traitors, or Love Island.
Peacock's decision comes a year after the service raised its prices $2. In July 2024, it bumped monthly subscriptions from at least $5.99 to a starting price of $7.99.
Almost every streaming app has increased prices in the past year and change.
In January, Netflix raised prices for its ad tier subscription to $7.99. Paramount Plus did the same last June.
Max, Hulu, and Disney+ all hiked their prices to $9.99, while Prime Video costs $8.99 a month.
But, as of Wednesday, Peacock's ad-running model is the most expensive of the pack.
A spokesperson for NBCUniversal didn't immediately respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment.
For years, the streaming companies have paid top dollar for gold-standard content.
Shows have blown through hundred-million-dollar budgets: HBO paid a reported $20 million for each episode of House of the Dragon, while Amazon Prime spent over $50 million on each episode of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
At the same time, services tried to entice subscribers with bargain basement rates.
Most apps charged between $5 and $7 a month during the first few years of service.
But the bill for the expensive show production seems to be coming due for most customers.
On Reddit threads, viewers are growing anxious over the pricing changes.
'Streaming isn't worth it anymore,' one angry customer said in response to Peacock's hike.
'Embrace piracy or digital and physical copies.'
It comes after an expert predicted shoppers will soon also see a $20 spike in Amazon Prime memberships.
JPMorgan analyst Douglas Anmuth said that Amazon customers may need to pay $159 instead of the usual $139 annually for a Prime membership starting next year.
'A $20 U.S. Prime price increase is seen driving about $3 billion in incremental annualized net sales,' according to a note via TheStreet.
The numbers come from Anmuth's estimated value of a Prime subscription, which came out to $1,430 per year.
According to the analyst, the new total was a 6 percent jump compared to last year's price tag and more than double the value compared to the 2016 membership cost.
The prediction is also based on Amazon's pattern of raising prices on significant features every four years.
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