Experts are warning that while streaming your favourite shows, you can expect to see more ads and pay higher bills.
It comes as the film industry faces increasing cost pressures following the Hollywood strikes.
This week, Neon sent an email to its customers, saying a standard plan would cost an extra $2 a month, while its annual plan would cost an extra $20.
The streaming service also said customers on its basic plan can expect a few minutes of ads per hour, while those on the more expensive plans will only get ads when they pause what they're watching.
Neon says it's just another way of subsidising increasing content costs
“Undoubtedly, there's a whole lot of price rises on the way,” technology commentator Ian Howard said.
“The Hollywood strikes recently have added a whole lot of inflationary pressure to a landscape where content was already expensive to make.”
He said other platforms like Netflix are already using ads in Australia, and it’s likely New Zealand is next.
“I think we'll probably see hybridised models where there'll be advertising, there'll be subscription, there'll probably be a whole load of different tiers depending on how happy you are to have advertising on the platform.”
Competition from streaming services has made it tough for local productions, and increasing content costs won’t make things any easier.
“They have taken the traditional audience that was on our free-to-air broadcasters to a large extent, and that's affected viewing numbers, which in turn affects the ability to make ad revenue, and that's the money that used to get ploughed into local production,” screen production and development assistant Irene Gardiner said.
IHoward said it’s had an effect on legacy media, too.
“It used to be that, as TVNZ, you could go and knock on, you know, Sony's door, HBO's door, you know, whoever, and you'd have an opportunity to grab that content,” he said.
“They're now all gonna deliver that content straight to the audiences themselves and cut out the middle man.”
The new government ministers say they’re looking forward to meeting with streaming companies in the coming weeks and months.
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