The news: Streaming prices soared nearly 20% in the final month of 2025, per Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation data. Entertainment broadly accounted for some of the top inflationary categories in December’s consumer price index.

Several streaming services increased prices in 2025. Disney+ increased subscription prices in September, HBO Max did the same in October, and several others increased costs throughout the year. Paramount+, Peacock, Spotify, and others are expected to increase subscription prices in 2026, and Netflix’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) could also lead to increased consumer costs.

Why it matters: The rising cost of streaming has become a pain point for American consumers who are cutting back spending as other economic pressures pile up. If households are feeling stretched too thin, they may cut back on the number of subscription video services or seek out lower-cost options.

• A Wells Fargo survey of consumers with New Year's resolutions found that 70% of adults over the age of 25 with an income below $100,000 planned to save more money in 2026.
• While inflation kept apace at 2.7% in 2025, hiring reached a muti-year low of 584,000 jobs, the lowest since 2020; excluding recessions, it was the worst year for US hiring since 2003.
• The holiday season also brought signs of economic hardship. Despite record-breaking holiday spending, consumers had lower buying power. Salesforce found that while US online shopping on Black Friday increased 3%, much of the rise came from a 7% increase in the average selling price. The amount of units per transaction dipped 2%.

Implications for streaming: US consumers have shown that inflation won’t cause them to cut out entertainment entirely. But as streaming costs rise and consumer dollars wield less buying power, the number of services they subscribe to may shrink. That means consumers will likely prioritize current sector leaders like Netflix and those with a large number of sports rights.

Higher streaming costs will be felt particularly by sports fans. Sports streaming rights are heavily fragmented, splitting matches within the same league across multiple streaming services: Certain NFL matches are available across Amazon Prime Video, ESPN Unlimited, YouTube TV, and more, requiring multiple costly subscriptions.