"The prices that Americans paid for subscription- and rental-based access to video streaming services and video games increased 29 percent from December 2024 to December 2025, according to data that the US Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released on Tuesday. According to the BLS, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), which BLS says represents over 90 percent of the US population across the country, for all items "increased 2.7 percent before seasonal adjustment.""
"The CPI-U for "subscription and rental of video and video games" includes subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) streaming services, like Netflix and Disney+, and "one-time rental of video and video game media. These may be rented or subscribed to through physical copy, streaming, or temporary download," BLS says. For comparison, "cable, satellite, and live streaming television service [such as YouTube TV and Sling]" saw 4.9 percent inflation last year."
"The index isn't adjusted for the "effect of changes that normally occur at the same time and in about the same magnitude every year-such as price movements resulting from changing climatic conditions, production cycles, model changeovers, holidays, and sales," per BLS. According to the federal agency, unadjusted data is "of primary interest to consumers concerned about the prices they actually pay.""
Prices for subscription and rental access to video streaming services and video games rose 29 percent from December 2024 to December 2025. The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 2.7 percent year-over-year before seasonal adjustment. The CPI-U category for subscription and rental of video and video games covers SVOD services and one-time rentals through physical copy, streaming, or temporary download. Cable, satellite, and live streaming television services saw 4.9 percent inflation over the same period. The index is not adjusted for regular seasonal effects, and unadjusted data is noted as of primary interest to consumers. From November to December 2025 the category's seasonally adjusted inflation was 19.5 percent.
Read at Ars Technica
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