South Africa spared big Apple TV+ price hike – for now

October 26, 2023 Siyabonga Mtangana

Apple on Wednesday announced big price hikes to Apple TV+ and other services in several global markets, but South Africa seems to have been spared — for now, at least.

Apple increased the subscription prices of Apple TV+ and Apple News+, according to its website, the latest company to raise rates following similar moves by media giants.

The per month price of Apple TV+ in the US has been increased by $3 to $9.99/month (R192/month), while Apple News+ has been priced at $12.99, up from $9.99.

Recently, streaming giants Netflix and Disney raised their prices as they look to boost growth amid intense competition. Netflix increased subscription prices for some streaming plans in the US, Britain and France when it reported results last week.

Disney said in August it would raise by 27% the price of the ad-free tier of the Disney+ service to $13.99 and hike by 20% the no-ad version of Hulu.

Apple TV+ remains priced at R124.99/month in South Africa. Apple News+ is not available in the country.

The price of Apple One — a bundle of Apple services — remains unchanged at R179.99/month for the individual plan, providing access to Apple TV+, Apple Music, Apple Arcade and 50GB of iCloud storage.