The entertainment industry is notorious for being home to the most money-hungry people and corporations on the planet. Recently, streaming services such as Netflix, Disney Plus, and Hulu have been catching the attention of their viewers with their rapid influx in cost. These prices are due to a mass cancellation of cable subscriptions. Studios are trying to make up as much lost revenue as possible and have found that charging their consumers more is a step in the right direction. These studios and distributors see no issue with raising their prices, but viewers are becoming frustrated.
According to The Wall Street Journal, “About one-quarter of U.S. subscribers to major streaming services have canceled at least three of them over the past two years,” Some viewers have gone as far as canceling one or multiple subscriptions. Many Americans living paycheck to paycheck are struggling with rent, groceries and gas. The last monetary liability they should be concerned about is their entertainment. However, people love and need entertainment. Winding down and relaxing after long, hard days is extremely important to the average person. Due to this, streaming services show no signs of slowing down. In fact, many streaming services are anticipated to continue raising their prices.
“There appears to be another Netflix price increase just around the corner. Wall Street analysts are expecting Netflix to raise prices across its streaming service in 2024,” says Quartz. Netflix is not alone in this venture. Disney Plus and Max are following in its greedy footsteps. The increase in prices also affects the plans subscribers already may have. On December 5th, subscribers on the ad-free tier, which costs $16 a month, will only be able to watch on two devices instead of three.
“It’s just frustrating, like, my mom has started asking me to help pay for Netflix and if it’s not going back down we’re seriously thinking about canceling it.” says senior Damien Juarez. His family loves watching movies together and are considering canceling due to the prices. “It really sucks too because they make great shows and, like, good movies and stuff but, like, at this point, it’s not worth it.”
The bottom line is that these studios and distributors are willing to meet their bottom lines no matter what. They don’t seem to care about overall value and the satisfaction of their customers. They only seem to care about breaking even. If prices continue to skyrocket, more customers may need to cancel their subscriptions, and without realizing it, these streaming services may be digging their own graves.
