Be Sure to Keep Tabs on the Rising Streaming Fees and Features

Over 2022, streaming prices saw another hike with almost every provider. In January, market leader Netflix jumped up, as did Disney+ towards the end of the year. Before Disney+, it was Apple bumping up its Apple TV service, along with most of its other media subscriptions. Increased costs for these services, and others like Prime Video, come at a time when many want to hunker down with their families and enjoy a nice film or TV show binge.
Those who are expecting streaming service prices to take a dip are sorely mistaken. People are ditching subscriptions to cut down outgoings, fuelled by cost increases and, in some cases, poor content, but ultimately, each platform runner is subject to the desires of investors to see evermore returns. It’s because of this that prices are on the rise, and advertisements are on the way.
Especially if you don’t keep tabs on your emails and pay monthly, or signed up for a low first-month price and forgot, the price jumps can easily catch you off guard. So, here’s a look at the state of play of streaming services, important news on upcoming changes to Netflix, and what to do if you get caught out by a surprise increased bill.
Streaming prices continue to rise

Source: Unsplash
The year 2022 saw the prices of food, fuel, and energy climb for customers, and with them, streaming companies jumped at the opportunity to up costs. On 15 September, Prime Video went from £7.99 to £8.99, Netflix went from £13.99 to £15.99 for the premium plan, Apple TV+ climbed in price from £4.99 to £6.99 in October, and Disney+ got its bump in February 2021 from £5.99 to £7.99 – but a rise is on the way.
Along with these price rises, to increase the share price, streaming platforms are looking to advertisements to increase revenue. Offering ads-included and ads-free subscription options mean that services can artificially raise the price of ads-free subscriptions while also offering a seemingly cheaper one with adverts. In the US, the introduction of adverts to one option led to the increase in price of the non-ads one by 38 per cent.
The UK price increase of Disney+ is expected to hit before midway through 2023, and will likely see the cost of a monthly, ads-free subscription climb to £9.99 per month. On the Netflix front, password sharing has been a major gripe for the long-running service. The plan appears to be to allow people to add more users to their accounts from different households, but for a fee. In the US, it looks to cost $2.99 per month.
Checking your options if you missed a change

Source: Pixabay
Sometimes, you miss if a monthly subscription has increased, get charged after you cancel a subscription, or find that a heavily-advertised and amped-up attraction of the service isn’t as advertised. In these instances, you can try to get a refund from the provider. If contacting customer services doesn’t work, or if you’d rather avoid that hassle, you may be able to turn to your card provider.
If you pay for a service like Prime Video, Disney+, or Netflix directly with your credit or debit card – and not via a service like PayPal – you may be able to claim a debit card chargeback or credit card refund. A chargeback can be applied for credit or debit card users if you don’t get what you paid for, it’s faulty, you’ve been charged the wrong amount, or you’re charged after cancelling a subscription.
If what you paid for isn’t as described or has been misrepresented, you could get a credit card refund, just as you could if it’s defective under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. With these being avenues for refunds while subscription prices can rise and features can change, all during the rising cost of living, it’s worth keeping tabs on your outgoings so that you don’t get overcharged.
Subscription-based streaming services continue to climb in cost, so be sure to watch out for any price rises in your emails and bank statements.