Streaming was supposed to be the cheap escape from the cable bill. Seven years after the big studios piled in, it is starting to look a lot like cable again: fewer and bigger companies, price increases every year and bundles designed to make leaving a hassle. The difference is that this time the business is finally making real money.
That matters on both sides of the ledger for anyone over 50. Investors in the media giants are watching whether pricing power can keep carrying earnings as subscriber growth slows, starting with Netflix on Oct. 20. Households are watching a monthly entertainment bill that keeps creeping higher, one or two dollars at a time.
- Netflix filings: the company expects a 2026 operating margin of 31.5%, up from 29.5% in 2025, on revenue of $51.0 billion to $51.4 billion, with ad revenue roughly doubling to about $3 billion.
- Walt Disney Co. filings: operating income from Disney+ and Hulu more than doubled to $712 million in the quarter ended in June, from $329 million a year earlier, as subscription revenue rose 15%.
- Nielsen: streaming reached 49.0% of all U.S. TV viewing in July, up from 47.3% a year earlier, while broadcast and cable combined slipped to about 38%.
Price increases have become routine
Almost every major service raised prices in 2026. Netflix lifted its U.S. ad-supported plan to $8.99 a month from $7.99 in March and its standard ad-free plan to $19.99 from $17.99. Its premium plan now costs $26.99, according to the company's own price list.
Peacock followed in August, raising its entry Select plan to $8.99 from $7.99 and its ad-supported Premium tier to $12.99 from $10.99, according to the company's help center. Existing Peacock subscribers started paying the new rates on bills dated on or after Sept. 17. The Apple TV and Peacock Premium bundle rose to $17.99 from $14.99 on Sept. 1.
Disney came next. In September it raised the standalone ad-free Disney+ and Hulu plans to about $21.50 a month from about $19, a 13% jump, and existing subscribers see the change on billing cycles on or after Oct. 21. It was the fourth Disney+ increase in four years, and the ad-free plan now costs more than three times its 2019 launch price of $6.99.
What has not happened is a mass exodus. Netflix told shareholders in July that the results of its recent price changes were consistent with prior changes and its expectations. Customers grumble and some cancel, but the revenue keeps rising.
The profits finally showed up
For most of the past decade, streaming lost money for nearly everyone except Netflix. That has changed.
Netflix earned $4.2 billion of operating income in the second quarter, or 33.4% of revenue, and guided to a 33.2% margin for the third quarter versus 28.2% a year earlier. Its full-year forecast implies operating income growth of more than 20%. The company also bought back $4.7 billion of its own stock in the second quarter, its largest quarterly repurchase ever.
Disney's streaming turnaround is just as striking. Revenue from Disney+ and Hulu rose 11% to $5.53 billion in its fiscal third quarter, and operating income more than doubled. Disney no longer reports subscriber counts every quarter, a clear sign management wants investors judging the business on profit rather than sign-ups.
Comcast's Peacock crossed the line too. Peacock reported adjusted EBITDA of $189 million in the second quarter, its first profitable quarter ever and a $290 million improvement from a year earlier, as paid subscribers grew by 2 million to 48 million on the NBA playoffs, the World Cup and Love Island USA.
Ads became the new middle tier
When streamers first added commercials, there was real doubt that subscribers would accept them. That debate is over. Research firm Antenna estimates there are now more than 110 million ad-supported streaming plans in the U.S., not counting Amazon Prime Video. At services that offer them, ad plans made up 48% of current subscribers and 59% of new sign-ups in the first quarter of 2026.
Deloitte's 2026 Digital Media Trends survey found that 68% of streaming subscribers now have at least one ad-supported plan, up from 46% in 2024. That shift explains the pattern in this year's increases. The ad-free plans generally took the biggest dollar increases. The gap between Netflix's ad-supported and ad-free standard plans is now $11 a month.
Fewer, bigger players
Consolidation is the other half of the cable comparison. On Oct. 6, Paramount completed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, and the combined company is now called Skydance. It puts HBO Max and Paramount+ under one roof, and the company says its streaming products will unify into a single service over time. Skydance counts more than 200 million streaming subscribers across its platforms and is targeting at least $6 billion in annual cost savings within three years.
Netflix had agreed to buy Warner's studio and streaming business, but in February it declined to match Paramount's higher offer and walked away with a $2.8 billion termination fee. Comcast, meanwhile, has announced plans to spin off NBCUniversal and Sky into a separate public company.
The biggest competitor for viewing time may be the one most people do not pay for. YouTube captured a record 14.2% of all TV viewing in July, according to Nielsen, more than any single media company.
What investors should watch
The earnings calendar arrives quickly. Netflix posts third-quarter results after the market closes on Oct. 20. Comcast reports before the open on Oct. 22, with Peacock's results inside. Disney releases fiscal fourth-quarter results before the open on Nov. 17.
Three questions matter most. First, are price increases still sticking, or does churn start to rise after Disney's October billing change? Second, is advertising growing as promised, including whether Netflix stays on track for about $3 billion this year? Third, what does Skydance do with prices once HBO Max and Paramount+ start to merge?
There is also an age wrinkle that matters to advertisers. Nielsen's second-quarter ad-supported data show streaming's share drops to 44.4% among adults 18 and older, versus 48.2% for all viewers, because older audiences still watch more broadcast and cable. That is one reason streamers keep paying up for live sports such as the NFL.
On X, one of the most shared posts this month joked that the streaming services will eventually merge into one and recreate cable. Deloitte's survey backs up the frustration: 73% of consumers say they are frustrated that their services keep raising prices, and 61% say they would cancel their favorite service if it rose by $5 a month.
What it means for your household
Deloitte puts the average subscribing household's streaming spend at $69 a month, flat from a year earlier, which suggests many families are already trimming services to absorb the increases. A few habits help.
Start with an audit. Check your card statement, your internet bill and the subscription settings on your phone or TV device, since many services bill through Apple, Amazon or Roku. Cancel anything you have not watched in a month.
Rotate instead of stacking. Most services let you cancel and rejoin anytime, so subscribe for the show you want, then pause. Deloitte found churn steady at around 40%, so plenty of households already do this.
Consider the ad plans. On Netflix, the ad-supported tier saves $11 a month compared with the ad-free standard plan, or $132 a year. Annual plans can also lock in a price: Peacock says current annual subscribers keep their rate until the plan renews.
Do not overlook the free options. An indoor antenna still pulls in local broadcast channels, where much of the live sports and network news older viewers watch is still found, and free ad-supported services fill in the rest.
The bottom line: streaming has grown up into a profitable, consolidating business with real pricing power, which is good news for shareholders and a steady squeeze on household budgets. The families that review their subscriptions a couple of times a year are the ones most likely to keep the bill in check. This article is general information, not personalized financial advice.
