The rise in the cost of living brought on by runaway inflation and the end of pandemic lockdowns may be cutting into the viewing habits of TV consumers after nearly half of those responding to a recent survey said they plan to cancel at least one of their cable or streaming subscriptions in the coming months.
The report, conducted by digital TV antenna provider Mohu in September, analyzed TV viewership numbers for 1,200 American adults over the past year, who were subscribed to at least one television or streaming service.
According to the probe, more than 2 in 5 Americans - 44 percent - plan to nix at least one cable or streaming subscription in the next six months, with the vast majority of them citing rising costs as the reason for the prospective cancellations.
Conversely, 2 in 5 of those surveyed said that they do not plan to cancel any of their media subscriptions - whereas roughly 1 in 5 responded that they were still uncertain on whether or not they would pull the plug on their preferred TV mediums.
According to a recent probe conducted by digital TV antenna provider Mohu, more than 2 in 5 Americans plan to nix at least one cable or streaming subscription in the near future
Meanwhile, 80 percent of the 1,200 polled disclosed that when signing up for their streaming services or cable subscriptions of choice, they do so with the intent to keep those subscriptions active for more than year.
With that said, the more than 500 that said they plan to call off these subscriptions cited increasing costs for their change of heart, saying the newly inflated prices are simply not worth paying, with rates for streaming services and TV providers having soared since the start of the pandemic.
Streaming stalwart Netflix, for instance, increased its rates in October 2020, adding a dollar to its basic price and $2 to its higher-priced plans - bringing its current costs to $10-a-month for its base plan, $14 for its intermediary Standard option, which allows for HD streaming, and $18 for its Premium plan, which allows users to stream content in 4K.
The survey's results - and streaming service's price hikes - come amid an unprecedented period of competition between companies that offer streamable content, as consumers sought other avenues of entertainment during the pandemic. But as pandemic-related restrictions lessen and an inflation crisis looms, consumers and companies are set to adapt
Moreover, rival streaming service Hulu also hiked its prices, in October of this year.
The company raised both its Limited Commercials and No Ads plans by $1 a month earlier this year - with Hulu with Limited Commercials going up from $5.99 to $6.99 a month, while its no-ads option increased from $11.99 to $12.99. The Hulu Annual Plan, meanwhile, which includes the company's Limited Commercials plan, raised from $59.99 to $69.99 a year.
What's more, Hulu partner Disney+ also increased its rates this year, with $1 price hikes to their plans that include the Disney streaming service.
At the time, Hulu released an email to subscribers notifying them of the change.
'The price of The Disney Bundle with Hulu (No Ads) + Live TV will increase on March 26, 2021 to $78.99/month,' the brazen bulletin began.
'The price adjustment will be reflected in your first billing cycle on or after March 26. Your payment method on file will be charged the new price unless you cancel before the start of your first billing cycle on or after March 26.'
YouTube TV also elected to mark up their prices during the pandemic, with the streaming service raising their rates by a whopping 30 percent, from $50 to $65, in June 2020.
The increase was the third, and largest, price increase for the service since its launch in 2017.
The news was then followed by sports-focused streaming company fuboTV's announcement that the price of their plans were to increase by $5 a month.
What's more, at the time, during the height of the pandemic ESPN announced that its ESPN+ option was also raising its monthly rate, from $5 to $6.
SlingTV, on the other hand, a streaming service that offers a model similar to your quintessential cable hookup, where users can flip through channels as they would on TV, increased its base price by $5 per month last January for new customers.
Existing customers,
