Update — September 4, 2026: Apple TV and Peacock raised their monthly bundle prices to $17.99 for Premium and $22.99 for Premium Plus effective September 1. Adding Peacock Premium now costs $3 above Apple TV alone; adding Apple TV costs $3 above Peacock Premium Plus alone. New and returning subscribers pay the revised rates; existing bundle subscribers switch on their next billing date on or after October 1. The article below reflects pricing at publication on August 31.
Apple raised Apple TV from $12.99 to $14.99 per month and increased the annual plan from $99 to $119. Apple One Individual also increased from $19.95 to $21.95.
That makes Apple TV three times as expensive as the $4.99 service Apple launched in 2019.
The more important number is $14.99.
Apple TV now costs $14.99 by itself. The existing bundle containing Apple TV and Peacock Premium also costs $14.99.
The same thing happens with the more expensive package. Peacock Premium Plus costs $19.99 by itself. The bundle containing Peacock Premium Plus and Apple TV also costs $19.99.
At the lower price, Peacock appears free. At the higher price, Apple TV appears free.
Apple and NBCUniversal raised their standalone prices without changing their bundle prices. The result is a bundle designed to make buying either service alone look like the wrong decision.
Peacock Now Costs Nothing Extra
Peacock Premium recently increased from $10.99 to $12.99 per month. Apple TV increased from $12.99 to $14.99.
Purchased separately, the two services now cost $27.98. Purchased through the Apple TV and Peacock bundle, they cost $14.99.
The customer saves $12.99, which is the complete standalone price of Peacock Premium.
The bundle became more valuable without becoming cheaper.
Before the increases, Apple TV and Peacock Premium cost a combined $23.98. The $14.99 bundle saved the customer $8.99. The same bundle now saves $12.99, increasing the displayed savings by $4, or approximately 44%.
Apple and NBCU created that additional value by increasing the prices surrounding the bundle.
The $19.99 bundle makes the same argument from the other direction. Peacock Premium Plus costs $19.99 per month. Adding Apple TV through the bundle costs nothing extra, even though Apple sells the service independently for $14.99.
Neither service is economically free. Apple and NBCU divide the subscription revenue under terms they haven’t disclosed, and Peacock can generate advertising revenue from viewing on both tiers because some programming still carries commercials.
The services feel free because the customer’s monthly payment doesn’t increase when the second one is added.
The Standalone Price Became a Sales Tool
Streaming prices usually tell customers what a service costs. Apple and Peacock are also using those prices to tell customers how much the bundle saves.
The current choices are:
- Apple TV: $14.99
- Peacock Premium: $12.99
- Apple TV with Peacock Premium: $14.99
- Peacock Premium Plus: $19.99
- Apple TV with Peacock Premium Plus: $19.99
The standalone plans make the bundles look irrational to reject.
A customer considering Apple TV can add Peacock Premium for no additional charge. A customer considering Peacock Premium Plus can add Apple TV for no additional charge.
Apple and NBCU improved that pitch without reducing the bundle price. Raising the standalone prices increased the bundle’s displayed value automatically.
That changes the role of a streaming list price. The number can generate more revenue from customers who continue paying directly. It can also serve as the sticker price that makes a bundle, annual commitment or wholesale offer appear cheaper.
The standalone product remains available. Its price now does some of its most useful work from the comparison column.
Peacock Gives Apple More Value Without Putting Ads in Apple TV
Apple TV doesn’t offer a lower-priced advertising tier.
A customer who rejects the $14.99 monthly price can’t downgrade to a cheaper Apple TV plan with commercials. The customer can pay, commit to an annual subscription, move into Apple One, receive the service through a promotion or cancel.
Peacock gives Apple another option.
The $14.99 bundle doesn’t lower the customer’s Apple TV bill. It gives the customer another service for the same amount, including NBC and Bravo programming, Universal films, news and live sports.
That additional programming can make the subscription easier to retain without requiring Apple to introduce commercials inside Apple TV.
Peacock supplies the advertising model. Apple preserves Apple TV as an ad-free premium service. The companies use the bundle to combine the two approaches inside one purchase.
Peacock Premium also creates advertising inventory after the subscription is sold. A customer watching Premier League, the NBA, NBC programming or a Universal film creates inventory NBCU can sell.
The economics depend on the companies’ undisclosed revenue split, viewing levels and advertising yield. The structure gives NBCU more than the subscription payment to work with.
Apple gets a broader entertainment package without paying to build a Peacock-sized library. NBCU gets access to Apple customers and their existing payment credentials without acquiring every account through Peacock’s own marketing.
Apple and Peacock Are Competing to Take the Payment
The bundle includes one purchase but retains two separate apps.
Customers watch Apple programming inside the Apple TV app and Peacock programming inside Peacock. Each company continues to control the viewing experience and engagement data generated inside its own product.
The bundle can also be purchased through either company.
Customers can subscribe through Apple TV or Peacock. That means Apple and NBCU cooperate on the product and price while competing for the billing relationship.
The company processing the subscription owns the billing record and controls renewals, payment recovery and the cancellation flow. It also gets the first opportunity to sell the customer another service or upgrade.
The customer increasingly belongs to whoever takes the payment. The bundle gives Apple and NBCU a shared offer while preserving separate chances to take it.
That distinction becomes important when the customer cancels. Apple wants the account to remain inside its services business. NBCU wants the account to remain inside Peacock. Both companies benefit when the bundle survives, but the billing provider holds the stronger position when it doesn’t.
The bundle therefore creates two competitions at once. Apple TV and Peacock compete together against other streaming services for the household’s money. Apple and NBCU compete with each other to process the transaction.
Every Other Apple TV Offer Just Got Better
The increase also changed how Apple TV’s annual plan and Apple One look.
Paying $14.99 for 12 months costs $179.88. The $119 annual plan lowers the effective monthly price to approximately $9.92 and saves the customer $60.88.
That discount gives Apple a full year of revenue upfront. It delays the customer’s next cancellation decision for 12 months.
A monthly subscriber can leave after finishing Ted Lasso, Severance or another major release. An annual subscriber remains available for Apple to move into the next show, film or sporting event.
Apple also raised Apple One Individual by the same $2 applied to Apple TV.
Before the increases, Apple TV cost $12.99 and Apple One Individual cost $19.95. Upgrading required another $6.96.
Apple TV now costs $14.99 and Apple One Individual costs $21.95. The upgrade still requires another $6.96.
The dollar gap didn’t move, while the percentage difference became smaller. Apple One now looks better relative to Apple TV even though both products became more expensive.
The standalone increase consequently improved the comparison for the annual plan, Apple One and the Peacock bundle at the same time.
Apple has one monthly Apple TV tier. It has built the rest of its pricing ladder through longer commitments, company-wide bundles and outside partners.
The Bundle Has to Outearn the Revenue It Replaces
The bundle creates a risk for both companies when existing subscribers discover the math.
A household paying separately for Apple TV and Peacock Premium can reduce its monthly bill from $27.98 to $14.99 by switching to the bundle. The customer saves money while Apple and NBCU divide a smaller subscription payment.
The package produces its cleanest return when it attracts customers who previously subscribed to only one service or neither service.
A new Apple TV customer acquired through Peacock can provide revenue Apple wouldn’t have received independently. A new Peacock customer acquired through Apple can produce subscription revenue, viewing and advertising inventory that NBCU would otherwise have missed.
Migration from separate subscriptions can still pay off when the bundle improves retention, reduces acquisition costs or creates enough Peacock advertising revenue. It becomes a bad trade when those gains fail to replace the direct subscription revenue Apple and NBCU surrendered.
Apple and NBCU need to measure:
- New customers acquired through the bundle
- Existing standalone subscribers moving into it
- The company originating each purchase
- Viewing across both apps
- Peacock advertising revenue from bundled customers
- Bundle churn compared with standalone churn
- The subscription revenue replaced by bundle migrations
The bundle’s large displayed discount can drive acquisition. Its actual value depends on how much of that acquisition is incremental.
List Prices Are Becoming Bundle Marketing
Streaming customers increasingly reach services through wireless plans, broadband packages, app stores, wholesale distribution and cross-company bundles.
That means the price shown on a service’s signup page may not be the price many customers ultimately pay.
The standalone number still matters. It establishes the value of every discounted route surrounding it.
A $14.99 Apple TV subscription makes the $119 annual plan look cheaper. It makes the $21.95 Apple One package look broader. It makes the $14.99 Peacock bundle look like a free service has been added.
NBCU receives the same benefit. Peacock’s higher prices increase the amount customers are told they save through the partnership.
Streaming services are already widening the gap between advertising and ad-free plans to direct customers toward different forms of monetization. Bundles add another path. The company can charge full price to customers who value direct access while using the same list price to make a discounted partnership more attractive.
As aggregation expands, streaming prices will increasingly operate like hotel rates or wireless plans. The published price creates a reference point. Promotions, bundles and distribution agreements determine what many customers actually pay.
The Streaming Wars Take
Apple’s latest increase does more than add $2 to the monthly bill.
It makes Apple TV alone cost the same as Apple TV bundled with Peacock Premium. At the higher tier, Peacock Premium Plus alone costs the same as Peacock Premium Plus bundled with Apple TV.
The increase expanded the lower bundle’s displayed savings from $8.99 to $12.99 without changing the bundle price. It also strengthened the annual-plan discount and preserved the $6.96 upgrade from Apple TV into Apple One.
Apple still doesn’t have an advertising tier. Peacock gives it more programming and an ad-funded partner without requiring Apple to put commercials inside its own service.
The scorecard should include bundle acquisition, standalone migrations, advertising revenue, churn and which company processes each subscription.
Apple TV alone and Apple TV with Peacock Premium now cost exactly the same. The pricing makes the customer’s preferred path obvious.
The price increased. The bundle became the bargain.
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