Mis à jour le 2 November 2023.
The highly competitive video on demand streaming market is booming, with rising prices and the emergence of new ad-based offers. After Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video are confirming this new media trend.
The term “Streamflation” is on everyone’s lips at the moment: popular video streaming platforms, once synonymous with affordable subscriptions, are steadily raising their prices in response to economic pressures. Whether you use a 4K UHD TV, a projector or a media player like the Apple TV 4K, Google Chromecast Ultra or Xiaomi TV Stick 4K to follow your favorite series, there’s no escaping this trend!
After Netflix, Disney+ also increased the price of its monthly subscription in the United States in December 2022, followed by a further increase in October 2023. France is following the same trend: from November 1, 2023, the monthly rate for Disney+ will also increase to align with the United States. As for Amazon, the price increase for the Amazon Prime subscription, including access to Prime Video, will take effect during 2024. To avoid these increases, users have no choice but to opt for the new ad-based subscription offers…
Why are streaming prices rising?
Two factors explain this phenomenon. First, the explosion in the number of SVOD platforms in recent years. Newcomers charged very low rates to attract as many subscribers as possible at launch, before gradually adjusting prices to reach profitability. The second factor is inflation: rising production costs for original content and shareholder pressure to generate profits are driving platforms to review their business models. Price increases are therefore inevitable.
How to pay less for your streaming service
To deal with this situation, without making users pay too much more, Netflix has launched ad-supported subscription offers. In November 2022, the iconic global streaming company unveiled its Essential with ads offer: this provides cheaper access to the platform (€5.99 per month), in exchange for a few minutes of advertising per hour. Given the success of this package, Netflix upgraded it last April to 1080p image quality (previously 720p) and renamed it Standard with ads. A successful strategy, since advertising revenues more than compensate for the lower price.
After allowing Netflix to deal with the teething problems, other sector players, notably Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video, are taking up the challenge of offering reduced-rate subscriptions with advertising, to expand their potential customer base.
What are the new rates for Disney+ and Prime Video?
From November 1, 2023, Disney+ subscribers will be able to choose between the new ad-based subscription and two other ad-free tiers.
Disney+ prices are also increasing and a more affordable ad-base offer is being launched.
| Price | Picture | Audio | Screens | Included options | |
| Ad-based offer | €5.99/month | 1080p HD | Stereo/5.1 | 2 | none |
| Standard offer | €8.99/month or €89.90/year | 1080p HD | Stereo/5.1 | 2 | offline mode (dowloads) |
| Premium offer | €11.99/month or €119.90/year | 4K/HDR UHD | Dolby Atmos | 4 | offline mode (dowloads) |
The price of the Amazon Prime subscription won’t be increased, but the standard offer will feature adverts. Despite this, it will still provide access to 1080p HD and 4K HDR content with Dolby Atmos audio. Users who want to will be able to switch to an ad-free subscription for an extra $2.99 in the States. The additional cost of this ad-free package in other countries will be announced at a later date, according to Amazon.
Price increases and the introduction of ad-supported offers reflect the ever-changing dynamics of the video-on-demand streaming sector. Consumers now have greater choice, but must also contend with ever-changing pricing. SVOD players must constantly adapt to meet subscribers’ needs and preferences, while ensuring the viability of their business model.
