TradingKey - When streaming giant Netflix announced its $827 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery’s core assets—including iconic franchises like Harry Potter and Game of Thrones, HBO, and its streaming platforms—the entire entertainment industry was shaken. This isn’t merely Hollywood’s largest merger in recent years; it could fundamentally rewrite content consumption rules.
Under the agreement, Netflix would control Warner Bros.’ film/TV production and streaming operations, while Warner’s retained cable networks, news, and sports channels would spin off into a new entity called "Discovery Global."
However, days later, Paramount Skydance countered with a $108 billion bid, instantly slashing market expectations of Netflix’s successful acquisition from 60% to 20%.
This bidding war echoes Disney’s $71 billion acquisition of Fox in 2019, which triggered industry-wide restructuring. Today, it marks a pivotal moment in the next wave of user competition and IP consolidation.
Yet regardless of whether Netflix or Paramount acquires Warner Bros., the outcome spells trouble for streaming consumers.
As platforms aggregate copyright content through massive acquisitions, options to access individual shows or subscribe to smaller bundles vanish. Monopoly platforms gain absolute pricing power. Against tightening household budgets, soaring video subscription costs impose new fixed expenses on ordinary families.
(Source: Freepik)
Are Streaming Subscriptions Becoming Increasingly Expensive?
A Deloitte report reveals U.S. households now spend an average of $70 monthly on streaming services as of October—a sharp rise from $48 a year earlier. Among surveyed consumers, 70% express dissatisfaction with continuous price hikes, and roughly one-third have actively reduced subscriptions over the past three months due to financial pressures.
Today, over 83% of U.S. adults primarily watch video content via streaming—a trend spanning all age groups and income levels. It’s common for households to juggle three to four platforms simultaneously (e.g., Netflix + Hulu + Prime Video + Disney+), creating a multi-portal ecosystem.
Superficially, this appears to expand choice. In reality, cumulative subscription fees have elevated streaming to a fixed expense category alongside mobile plans and internet bills.
Consumers initially abandoned cable TV to escape bundled packages costing over $100 monthly for channels they rarely used. Yet streaming services’ promise of "more content, lower prices, greater autonomy" is reversing.
Take Disney+: its ad-free tier launched at $6.99 in 2019, then rose $1 in 2021, $3 in both 2022 and 2023, $2 in 2024, and finally reached $18.99 in 2025—a cumulative increase of 172%.
Similarly, mainstream platforms like Netflix, HBO Max, and Apple TV+ have all implemented price hikes in 2025.
If the "cord-cutting revolution" began as a rebellion against old monopolies through new access points, it is now quietly evolving into another sophisticated—but more closed—bundled information network. We’re merely clicking faster than before, but spending far more.
Are Streaming Services Repeating Radio Era Monopoly Tactics?
Platform prices silently climb again and again, as if by mutual understanding. This "coordinated" pricing isn’t a coincidence.
Inside the industry, today’s dominant platforms have long ceased being mere playback tools. They now simultaneously function as studios (producing original content), distributors (signing talent contracts), and channel operators (controlling third-party scheduling)—not innovation, but a 21st-century technological reincarnation of the classic three-in-one broadcast model.
Take last month’s example: After a carriage dispute with YouTube TV over rebroadcast rights, Disney deliberately blocked its Monday Night Football broadcast, forcibly redirecting millions of viewers to its exclusive ESPN+ platform.
Increasingly evident is how these platforms not only control the entire creation-distribution-playback chain but also erect new "digital moats" through sophisticated algorithmic recommendations, multi-tiered subscription structures, and complex package designs.
Users believed they gained more freedom, yet are often driven by systems to fragment their attention while bearing multiple seemingly "small" costs that actually duplicate and significantly compound.
Leveraging these systems, platforms can unilaterally change usage rules and implement synchronized price hikes without regulatory barriers.
This structure leaves consumers with virtually no real choice—you want only one series, yet must subscribe to an entire app bundle.
Can Historical Lessons Save Today’s Streaming Dilemma?
This predicament is not unprecedented in entertainment history.
In the 1930s, major film studios monopolized the production-distribution-exhibition chain, exclusively prioritizing their own films in affiliated theaters while aggressively suppressing competitors. Ultimately, the federal government launched antitrust investigations, resulting in the landmark "Paramount Decree." This ruling forcibly separated movie production companies from theater ownership, fundamentally dismantling embedded industry interest structures. The outcome spurred a flourishing of independent creative works and heralded the dawn of Hollywood’s Golden Age.
By the 1970s, similar issues resurfaced in U.S. broadcast television. When ABC, CBS, and NBC monopolized program financing and prime-time scheduling, severe conflicts of interest emerged in internal content procurement. The FCC intervened by implementing fin-syn (financial interest and syndication) rules—explicitly prohibiting networks from selling programs externally or permanently retaining copyright royalties. This returned creative control to independent studios, laying the groundwork for the rise of HBO and the modern prestige television era.
In other words, we are not facing an unprecedented crisis but reliving a profound historical déjà vu. The difference lies in the protagonists: today’s central players are Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime. Yet their restrictions across content production → licensing strategies → distribution channels → membership models wholly recreate the very same controversial paths once tread by broadcast oligopolies.
Are You Also Nostalgic for Cable TV’s Single Bill?
Streaming platforms’ practices are making consumers long for cable TV bundles.
This actually validates a broad economic principle: when choice costs exceed transaction costs, the "free market" itself becomes a pressure source.
The cord-cutting movement once promised flexible pricing and on-demand viewing, but today’s platform operations increasingly mirror the very monopolistic systems once criticized.
According to multiple 2025 consumer surveys, as many as 32% of U.S. households admit missing cable TV’s single transparent bill—"At least I knew exactly which channels I was paying for each month."
(Source: Freepik)
What Can We Do When Platforms Raise Prices?
While systemic reforms are essential, policy interventions often take time. Meanwhile, amid relentless price hikes and complex bundling schemes, individual users can regain control through smart financial tactics.
Clean Up "Zombie Subscriptions"
Audit your subscription accounts—many are automatically charged monthly without notice. "Zombie Subscriptions" have become invisible budget killers for households.
Dedicate 10 minutes monthly to comprehensively review credit card statements, PayPal transaction histories, and platform subscription pages:
Apple users: App Store > Profile icon > Subscriptions
Android users: Google Play > Payment Center > Subscriptions
List all services and categorize by usage frequency:
- High-frequency essentials (e.g., Netflix/HBO Max, used >3x weekly)
- Low-frequency utilities (e.g., music apps or film databases, 1–3x monthly)
- Idle waste (no login for 2+ months or forgotten credentials)
Truebill data reveals U.S. users save an average of $37 monthly by canceling idle digital services. For context: if you currently pay $17.99/month for Netflix’s ad-free tier, annual savings ($216) could cover most of a branded health insurance plan.
Set Entertainment Budgets
Streaming content is an extension of life’s necessities—but the issue isn’t spending, it’s spending wisely.
Per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2025 data, American households allocate ~5% of total income to entertainment, with video streaming comprising over 30% of that category. A prudent approach caps video spending at 1.5%–2% of gross income.
Example for a household earning $5,000/month (pre-tax):
- Monthly entertainment budget ≈ $250
- Recommended streaming allocation ≈ $75 max
Additionally, use apps like Mint or YNAB to categorize streaming expenses separately. These tools trigger alerts when spending exceeds limits and provide annual trend analyses—revealing when you’re most prone to impulsive subscriptions, a critical insight for behavioral optimization.
Adopt Flexible Rotation Strategies
Today’s platforms concentrate premium content into sparse, high-stakes releases ("one show per season" models), unlike past libraries with consistent depth.
This means: No need to retain all subscriptions year-round. Rotate services quarterly—subscribe only when desired content releases, then cancel after binge-watching. This slashes wasted spending on dormant accounts.
Proactively Negotiate Custom Discounts
Many users passively accept price changes, yet proactive communication often unlocks exclusive discounts.
Per Consumer Reports 2025 data, 38% of surveyed users successfully reduced membership fees by contacting customer service to express price concerns—averaging $4.20/month savings (over $50 annually).
For bundles: scrutinize value. Disney’s $29.99 "triple bundle" (Hulu+Disney++ESPN+) makes little sense if you skip sports—opting for Disney+’s ad-supported tier ($7.99/month) saves $22 monthly.
Additional savings avenues:
Costco’s streaming group deals (30% below retail)
Amazon Prime membership (includes discounted Prime Video access)
Annual prepayment plans (often 15% cheaper than monthly billing)
Neglecting these opportunities only thickens your subscription bill. Smart consumers treat streaming costs as negotiable line items—not fixed expenses.
How Much Do Streaming Services Cost?
The subscription prices of various streaming services are detailed below to help you make informed choices. Most services offer free trial periods—recommended before committing to long-term subscriptions.
Netflix
- Basic with Ads: $7.99/month
- Standard: $17.99/month (ad-free)
- Premium: $24.99/month (ad-free)
Hulu
- Basic: $11.99/month (with ads)
- No Ads: $18.99/month
- Live TV package: $89.99–99.99/month (includes 60+ TV channels; price varies based on ad preference and add-on channels)
Disney+
- With Ads: $11.99/month
- No Ads: $18.99/month or $189.99/year (22% savings)
- Disney Bundle: starting at $12.99/month (combinations of Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ in different tiers)
Apple TV+
- Standalone subscription: $12.99/month (all content ad-free)
- Apple One bundles:
- Individual: $19.95/month
- Family: $25.95/month
- Premier: $37.95/month
Peacock
- Essential: $7.99/month or $79.99/year (with ads)
- Premium: $10.99/month or $109.99/year (with ads)
- Premium Plus (No Ads): $16.99/month or $169.99/year
