Streamflation is real y'all. Peacock just announced its raising prices again, less than a year after it last upped subscription costs. The new price will be $8 per month for Peacock with ads and $14 per month for an ad-free experience, starting on July 18 for new subscribers and August 17 for pre-existing users. An ad-free subscription will be the same price as Disney+ and nearly as much as Netflix. Mrs. Davis was good, but was it that good?

To put this into perspective, just one year ago a subscription to Peacock set you back just $5 to $10 per month, depending on if you went with ads or not. Then there was a $1 increase last summer, and now a $2 increase this summer. If this rate of increase keeps up, Peacock will cost $260,000 per month by 2040, and that’s with ads. But can you really put a price tag on finding out if Jim and Pam ever kiss?

There is a method to Peacock’s price-gouging madness. The 2024 Summer Olympics is right around the corner and the streamer will be showing “every sport and event, including all 329 medal events.” The platform will also host full-event replays, curated video clips and original commentary. The Olympics kick off on July 26, just eight days after the price increase starts for new subscribers. Get that Olympics audience cheddar, Peacock, though good luck keeping subscriberers once the games end.

Peacock is just following the market here, as rival streaming services have been raising prices left and right. Just about every major streaming platform has become more expensive in the past year, including Disney+, Apple TV+ and Netflix. Other types of streaming services aren’t immune. Spotify is planning on raising subscription prices for US customers later this year, despite recently reporting record profits for the first quarter of 2024.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/peacock-is-raising-prices-again-just-in-time-for-the-olympics-185457098.html?src=rss

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