Entertainment streaming services are raising the prices of monthly subscriptions, which begs the question of whether or not cable TV might make a comeback.
Cord-cutting became an economic trend with the emergence of internet streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu. By 2019, 39.3 million Americans had cut ties with their cable companies, according to BroadBand Search.
By the end of this year, experts predict that more than 55 million people will have turned off their cable. The drop in paid viewers forced leading pay-TV companies to start offering things called "skinny bundles," with fewer channels for lower prices.
Meanwhile, Netflix recently moved its monthly subscription price from $13.99 to $15.49. Amazon's Prime membership has gone from $12.99 to $14.99, and Hulu and Disney+ are suspected to be increasing their prices again soon enough.
Stephan Paternot, co-founder and executive chairman of Slated, an online film packaging, financing and distribution marketplace, told Newsweek that even with several subscriptions to different streaming services, the "aggregate cost of all those is still cheaper than basic cable."
"Cord-cutting is happening because it's expensive, it's linear, and it's the old way of doing things," Paternot said, "but everyone is doing streaming."
Paternot said that there was "no way" cable subscriptions would increase at this point, despite the increase in prices seen in several streaming services.
"The last great holdout was for news and sports," he said. "I kept cable so I could get CNN, but now I can get it on Hulu." He mentioned that even Super Bowl LVI will be streamed on NBC's Peacock, so non-cable users still have access to major sports events such as that one.
While the chances that cable TV will have a resurgence are slim, there is still frustration with the inflation of prices by Netflix and Amazon Prime users.
Paternot said that the reason for the price increase is that streaming services are constantly investing in their own original content.
"They wanted to ramp up their original content, [so] they had to move their prices up," he added. "It's worth it because what they're doing is putting it towards original blockbusters."
Netflix has invested billions of dollars into the production of shows such as the Emmy award-winning series, The Crown and Stranger Things, as well as the more recent Oscar-nominated film Don't Look Up.
"They're pouring money into original content, [and] the prices will move up, but to a point," Paternot said. "They'll figure out a sweet spot."
But when asked if cord-cutting should still be considered worth it, Paternot said, "It's absolutely worth it, in all scenarios."
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