The next wave of video streaming services will crest in November with the launches of Disney+ and Apple TV+, and consumers will the faced with the first of many decisions over which apps are worth devoting another another couple bucks each month to streaming content.
PCMag recently surveyed 1,001 US consumers who currently use streaming services, the majority of whom said they don't plan on subscribing to any new services, whether Disney and Apple's offerings, HBO Max, or NBCUniversal's forthcoming app. We also polled respondents on how much they'd be willing to pay for streaming content per month, both for an individual service and as a monthly total.
We found that overall, streaming customers said they'd pay an average of about $33 per month for all their streaming services combined. However, the majority 40 percent of respondents said they'd only want to pay up to $20 total per month. Another 31 percent chose up to $40 per month and 16 percent would pay up to $60 per month, but after that it drops off significantly; very few would pay $100 or more.
On a service-by-service basis, that means they'll be room for only a handful of subscriptions in each streaming consumer's monthly budget. On average, respondents said they'd be willing pay about $10 a month per service, though 37 percent of respondents chose $6 to $10 as their ideal price range. Another 30 percent said they'd pay $11 to $15 per service, and 20 percent chose only up to $5. Coincidentially, the recently announced pricing for Apple TV+ is $4.99.
Only 8 percent of respondents said they'd pay $16 to $20 per service, with the final 5 percent of streaming users saying they'd drop $21 or more a month on a single offering.
Looking at the pricing breakdown across the main competitors, Netflix, which is starting to feel the effect of stiffer competition, currently costs $8.99 for its entry-level plan and $12.99 for its most popular Standard plan. Amazon gives customers Prime Video as part of a Prime subscription, but you can subscribe a la carte for $8.99 a month. Smaller niche competitors such as CBS All Access cost $5.99 a month.
The incoming crop of services has a chance to reset the market price for video streaming products. Apple, which has a relatively bare cupboard of original content and knows it, is giving away Apple TV+ for free with any device purchase and undercutting competitors on price. Disney, which has the strongest IP of them all with Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and a deep catalog of movies and shows, is offering standalone Disney+ for $6.99 and a bundle of Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu for $12.99 (Hulu's entry-level ad-supported tier costs $5.99 per month).
There are potential entrants on the higher end of the pricing scale, with AT&T's WarnerMedia reportedly considering $16 to 17 per month for HBO Max. We're also still waiting on concrete details about NBCUniversal's service, beside the fact that it's taking back The Office. Both of those services will launch in 2020.
All told, consumers will have a lot more choice—or at least, that's how the streaming providers would put it. But for viewers who cut the cable cord to be free of costly bundles and get favorite movies and shows in one place, the entertainment industry has caught up. Now you have to handpick the bundle yourself and watch the total cost slowly add up.
![Video Streaming Services: What You Should Know](https://zmgvideos.mashable.com/cms/2019/8/6668d220-bce1-feb6/uploaded_thumbnail.jpg)
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