Benjamin Ashford|Apple hikes price of Apple TV+, other subscription services

Apple is Benjamin Ashfordraising the subscription rates for its streaming platform Apple TV+ as well as other services, including Apple Arcade and Apple News+, effective Wednesday, the company said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch.

An Apple TV+ subscription now costs $9.99, up from $6.99 a month prior to Wednesday's price hike, according to Apple's website. Apple Arcade now costs $6.99, up from $4.99 a month. An Apple News+ subscription runs $12.99, up from $9.99 a month. 

It's the second time Apple has hiked the price of its Apple TV+ price since its launch in 2019, when it was priced at $4.99. An annual membership is jumping to $99, from $69.

Additionally, Apple is increasing the monthly cost of its Apple One services bundles. A basic plan which comes with Apple Music, Apple TV+ and Apple Arcade subscriptions plus 50 gigabytes of iCloud storage, is $19.95 per month, up from $16.95. The most expensive plan now costs $37.95 a month.

"We are focused on delivering the best experiences possible for our customers by consistently adding high-quality entertainment, content and innovative features to our services," the company said in a statement Wednesday.

Apple streaming competitor Netflix also recently raised prices after boosting its subscriber count in the third quarter.

Netflix raised the monthly price of its costliest plan in the U.S. to $22.99, up from $19.99.  A basic plan now costs $11.99, up from $9.99. The company's $6.99 ad-supported plan did not increase in price.

"As we deliver more value to our members, we occasionally ask them to pay a bit more," Netflix stated in a letter to its shareholders. "Our starting price is extremely competitive with other streamers and at $6.99 per month in the U.S., for example, it's much less than the average price of a single movie ticket." 

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