BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A new year is here and with the start of 2025 now upon us, it’s likely the cost of many of your favorite cable and streaming services are going up.
If you are a Spectrum cable customer get ready for a price hike. 7 News has learned that the price of every Spectrum cable package is going up around $5 a month starting on January 15.
Here is a look at some of the pricing changes for Spectrum cable customers:
- TV Select Plus from $120.74 to $125
- TV Select from $115.74 to $120
- TV Select Signature from $110.74 to $115
- TV Choice from $75.75 to $80
- Spectrum Basic from $35.74 to $40
However, these increases in cable prices fall in line with price hikes for several popular streaming services.
The price of YouTubeTV is also going up later this month jumping from $72.99 to $82.99 a month.
Hulu customers are also paying more. The Hulu Live TV, Disney + and ESPN+ bundle with no ads will now cost you $95.99 a month after a price hike last fall.
Even Netflix users saw a jump with premium plans moving from $19.99 to $22.99 a month in October of 2024.
I spoke with Dan Rayburn, a principal analyst in streaming media, to learn more about what's driving these changes.
“The problem here is that consumers don’t really understand the number one cost for all these streaming services is content," said Rayburn. "The cost to actually license the content or produce the content is extremely high. So that’s why we continue to see price increases every single, pretty much every single year from every single streaming service.”
I asked Rayburn how consumers can save money, and he passed along the following tips to consider:
- What content is most important to you and your family?
- When do you want to get that content, streaming or on-demand?
- What is your budget?
- Figure out what services you might already be getting for free as part of another service you are buying.
Rayburn said finding the most cost-effective way to get the content you want is important because he doesn’t see price increases going away any time soon.
“There’s no relief coming,” said Rayburn.
