By The Chronicle Staff

The monthly collection of streaming subscriptions that replaced the traditional cable bill is getting a little more expensive again.

Apple has increased the price of its Apple TV streaming service in the United States, raising the monthly subscription from $12.99 to $14.99 per month. The annual subscription is also increasing significantly, jumping from $99 to $119 per year.

The new price is effective immediately for new subscribers. Existing customers will receive notice approximately one month before the higher price appears on their bill.

Apple's streaming service launched in 2019 at just $4.99 per month, meaning the monthly price has now roughly tripled in seven years.

The service increased to $6.99 per month in 2022, $9.99 in 2023 and $12.99 in 2025. The latest increase brings the price to $14.99 — marking the fourth price increase since the service launched.

Apple is also raising the price of its Apple One Individual bundle. That package, which combines Apple TV with services including Apple Music, Apple Arcade and iCloud storage, is increasing from $19.95 to $21.95 per month. Apple One's Family and Premier plans are not increasing as part of this latest change.

While subscribers may not welcome another increase, Apple TV is considerably different today than it was when the service debuted.

Apple has built a growing catalog of original TV shows and movies, including series such as “Ted Lasso,” “Severance,” “Slow Horses,” “Dark Matter” and “Pluribus.” The streaming service has also become increasingly involved in live sports.

Apple TV now includes Major League Soccer matches and Friday Night Baseball, and Apple secured the U.S. broadcasting rights to Formula 1 racing beginning with the 2026 season. Those sports offerings are included with the regular Apple TV subscription rather than requiring an additional sports package.

Apple's programming has also found considerable success during awards season. The company says its original programming has received thousands of award nominations and hundreds of wins since the streaming service launched.

Still, another price increase may cause some households to reconsider just how many streaming services they really need.

Apple is hardly alone.

Netflix, Peacock, Amazon Prime Video and YouTube Premium have all increased at least some subscription prices during 2026. ESPN is also raising streaming prices in September.

The individual increases can appear relatively small — often another dollar or two each month — but the combined cost can become substantial for households subscribing to multiple platforms.

Consider a family that maintains five streaming subscriptions. If each service increases its price by just $2 per month, that's another $120 per year added to the household entertainment budget.

It's part of a significant transformation in the streaming industry.

When services such as Netflix, Hulu and eventually Apple TV began competing with traditional cable television, one of their biggest selling points was affordability and flexibility. Consumers could cancel cable, choose a handful of inexpensive streaming services and still have access to a large selection of entertainment.

As entertainment companies launched their own platforms, however, viewers increasingly needed multiple subscriptions to access different shows, movies and sporting events.

The result has created a familiar problem: the relatively inexpensive streaming bill can quickly turn into several monthly payments that together begin looking much more like the cable bill consumers were trying to escape.

Apple TV does maintain one distinction from many major competitors: it currently has no lower-priced advertising-supported subscription tier. The $14.99 plan provides access without traditional commercial interruptions.

Apple also continues to offer a seven-day free trial for new subscribers, while customers purchasing qualifying new Apple devices can receive three months of Apple TV at no charge. A subscription can be shared with up to six family members through Family Sharing.

For current subscribers, the latest increase amounts to another $24 per year for those paying monthly. Annual subscribers will pay approximately $20 more when their subscriptions renew.

By itself, that may not be enough to convince many viewers to cancel.

But as nearly every streaming company continues raising prices, consumers may increasingly find themselves asking a question that once helped launch the streaming revolution in the first place:

How much television are we actually paying for? ■