Streaming services continued a trend of price increases in early 2026, impacting consumers of music, television, and film. Crunchyroll, Amazon Music, Paramount Plus, Spotify, and Sling TV all announced or implemented price hikes in January and February, following similar adjustments throughout 2025.
The anime streaming service Crunchyroll raised prices on its ad-free plans on February 2, increasing costs by $2 per month across all tiers. The Fan plan now costs $10 per month, Mega Fan is $14, and Ultimate Fan is $18. This increase marks the first price adjustment for the entry-level Fan subscription since 2019, and followed the removal of Crunchyroll’s free, ad-supported tier roughly a month prior.
Amazon Music Unlimited also increased prices, with Individual plans rising to $13 per month (or $12 for Prime members), and Family plans increasing to $22 per month. The changes took effect February 3 for modern customers, and will be applied to existing subscribers on or after March 5. Amazon Music Unlimited had previously adjusted prices in 2025.
Paramount Plus increased the cost of its ad-supported Essential plan from $8 to $9 per month, or $60 to $90 annually. The ad-free Premium plan rose from $13 to $14 monthly, and $120 to $140 annually. These changes, initially announced in November 2025, went into effect in mid-January 2026.
Spotify announced price increases on January 15, raising the cost of its Premium Individual plan by $1 to $13 per month. The Premium Duo plan increased to $19, Premium Family to $22, and Premium Student to $7. The price adjustments were immediately applied to new subscribers and will capture effect in February for existing users.
Sling TV adjusted rates for its Blue packages in select regions where local ABC, Fox, or NBC stations are available. The cost of Blue increased by $4 (up from no charge) for access to one or two local stations, and by $9 (up from $5) for access to all three. Existing customers will see the changes reflected on their billing date on or after February 20.
These increases follow a series of price adjustments in 2025. In October 2025, HBO Max raised prices for its ad-supported Basic tier to $11 per month, its ad-free Standard tier to $18.50 per month, and its ad-free Premium tier to $23 per month. Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Select also saw price increases, as did various bundle options, including Hulu Plus Live TV.
Disney Plus increased its ad-supported plan to $12 per month and its ad-free plan to $19 per month. Hulu’s ad-supported plan also rose to $12 per month, whereas the Disney Plus and Hulu bundle increased to $13 per month. The Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Select bundle rose to $20 per month. Hulu Plus Live TV increased to $90 per month with Disney Plus and ESPN Select, and $89 per month without.
Other services that increased prices in 2025 included DirecTV, Philo, Apple TV, and Peacock. Apple TV increased its price to $13 per month in August, while Peacock raised the cost of its Premium and Premium Plus plans to $11 and $17 per month, respectively, in July. Philo increased the price of its Core plan to $33 per month in September, adding access to ad-supported HBO Max and Discovery Plus. DirecTV implemented price increases affecting customers on or after October 5, and communicated the changes directly to its subscribers.
In a rare instance of price reduction, Fubo reduced its Pro and Elite monthly subscriptions by $11 to $74 and $84, respectively, in January 2026, amid a carriage dispute with NBCUniversal.
