Apple TV subscription rises to $14.99 a month in fourth price hike in four years

Apple has raised the price of its Apple TV streaming service for the fourth time in four years, pushing the standard monthly plan from $12.99 to $14.99. According to The Verge, which cites Deadline and Variety, the increase applies to both new and existing subscribers and took effect on Friday. TechCrunch reports the same figures.

What is changing

The monthly subscription now costs $14.99, a $2 increase of roughly 15 percent. The annual plan saw a steeper jump, going from $99 to $119, an increase of about 20 percent. Apple also raised the price of its individual Apple One bundle, which combines Apple TV with services such as iCloud+, Apple Music and Apple Arcade, from $19.95 to $21.95 per month.

According to The Verge, the change is effective immediately, and existing subscribers will be notified before their next bill.

A steady pattern of increases

This is the fourth Apple TV price hike in four years, and The Verge notes that it lands almost exactly a year after the previous one. The timing also comes just weeks after the premiere of the fourth season of Ted Lasso, one of the service's flagship shows.

The service's programming has broadened well beyond scripted originals and films. The Verge points to growing live sports coverage, including Formula 1, MLB and Major League Soccer — content that typically comes with expensive rights deals attached.

Apple's pricing push extends beyond streaming. The Verge reports that the company raised prices on almost all of its devices earlier this year and is reportedly planning increases for its AppleCare Plus subscriptions as well.

An industry-wide shift

Apple is far from alone in charging more. TechCrunch notes that Netflix raised its prices in March and that Peacock announced an increase earlier this month. It also frames the move as part of a wider pricing environment: tech companies are lifting hardware prices because RAM and component shortages, driven by huge demand for AI data center hardware, are squeezing supply chains.

TechCrunch also suggests that consumer frustration with Apple may not last long. The company is set to unveil its newest iPhone lineup on September 9, an event that will likely include its first foldable model and draw most of the attention.

Why it matters

A $2 monthly increase is modest in isolation, but the cadence is the story. Four hikes in four years, with the annual plan now 20 percent more expensive, shows how quickly streaming pricing has normalized upward. Services once marketed as the cheaper alternative to cable are converging toward cable-like price behavior, with live sports rights a recurring cost driver behind the increases.

For Apple specifically, the move also strengthens the appeal of the bundle. Apple One subscribers saw the same $2 increase as standalone monthly subscribers but a smaller proportional bump of roughly 10 percent, which nudges customers toward deeper integration with Apple's wider ecosystem of services rather than the streaming product on its own.