Apple just raised prices for its streaming service by 30%.
Apple TV+ now costs $12.99 per month, up from the $9.99 price tag it has had since October 2023. The 30% increase will take effect in the next 30 days for existing subscribers. However, prices won’t change for the streamer’s annual plan or Apple’s Apple One bundle, which includes Apple TV+.
Unlike all other major streamers, Apple TV+ has never had ads for on-demand shows — and it’s not getting them now.
Even after the price hike, Apple TV+ still costs less than most of its ad-free peers. Amazon Prime Video is the cheapest high-profile streamer at under $12 without ads, while the revamped Paramount+ also charges $13 monthly for its ad-free plan.
Still, Apple’s streaming subscribers may be disappointed to hear they can no longer get ad-free shows and movies for the same price as the ad-supported versions of Disney+, Hulu, or HBO Max.
FASTs are racing past paid streamers
Yet another streaming price increase could continue to fuel the rapid growth of free-to-access services like YouTube, Tubi, and The Roku Channel.
YouTube posted one of its largest viewership gains ever in July, according to Nielsen. Google’s video giant gobbled up 13.4% of watchtime on connected TVs in the US, up from 12.8% in June.
Free, ad-supported TV services — also known as FASTs — have taken off this year.
Roku’s FAST service just had its biggest monthly jump in viewership ever, Nielsen data shows, by rising to a 2.8% share of US connected TV time in July.
Fox-owned Tubi has also made strides this year, though its viewership share has leveled off this summer at 2.2%. That’s still higher than Paramount+, Peacock, HBO Max, and Apple TV+ (which has never appeared on Nielsen’s monthly streaming charts).
If paid streamers like Apple TV+ keep asking customers to fork over more money, free services could benefit.
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