So much for cutting cords and cutting your costs.
With recent price increases by Disney+ and Netflix, the average American household is spending about $70 a month on streaming services, Wallethub analyst Chip Lupo told The Post.
“You’re probably paying just as much for all those combined as you were paying for cable,” Lupo said.
And it’s only going to get worse.
“Most people tend not to notice these incremental increases, which is how it works,” he noted. “At some point, you’ll be paying twice as much as you were originally. A lot of people directly pay their streaming services. So a lot of times, they don’t notice.”
According to Dan Ives, Global Head of Tech Research at Wedbush Securities, “we are seeing an arms race take place in the streaming battle.”
“Netflix has continued to raise prices as the churn from increases has been negligible with consumers given Netflix is the hearts and lungs of consumer content on a daily basis,” he continued. “Content is king, and Netflix is at the top of the mountain.”
Lupo told The Post that streamers justify price hikes for reasons such as “rising production costs,” since they spend billions of dollars on original programming.
Shows like “Severance,” “House of the Dragon,” and “Stranger Things” aren’t cheap to make.
He also cited expensive sports packages, such as the ESPN package hiking up Disney’s prices, and the fact that “Netflix is a publicly traded company,” which gives it added pressure.
But, as more viewers spot the increase – and the quality of the TV shows don’t reflect the price hikes – “there will be a breaking point where people no longer invest in streaming services.”
“Cable hit that bubble a few years ago. People…