Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Monday, Aug 04, 2025

More than 1,500,000 cancel Netflix, Disney+ and Now TV over living cost crisis

More than 1,500,000 cancel Netflix, Disney+ and Now TV over living cost crisis

The pandemic-fuelled streaming boom is officially over after households axed video subscriptions in record numbers at the start of the year.

More than 1.5 million British households cancelled accounts for services such as Disney+, Now and Apple TV+ during the first three months, figures from analytics group Kantar show.

The reason given for stopping a subscription service in more than 50% of the service terminations was ‘money saving’.

The mass cancellations are a sign the cost-of-living crisis is starting to bite, with families looking for ways to curb non-essential spending, as food, energy, and fuel prices all soar.

Lockdowns led to more people signing up for streaming services but now households need to ‘seriously prioritise where and how their disposable income is spent’, said Kantar.

While 58% of households still retain at least one paid-for streaming service, the number that does fell by 215,000 in the first quarter of this year.

Disney+ took a hard hit from cancellations

Apple TV Plus is among the streaming services to have seen a fall in subscriptions


The TV cull comes as other sectors are also starting to see customers reign in their spending, with luxury retail being one of the first to feel the pinch.

The chair of Made.com has said the online furniture retailer has already seen customers changing their buying habits as the cost-of-living crisis starts to bite.

‘The customer has definitely held back in the short term financially,’ Susanne Given, the boss of the furniture seller said.

‘However big a customer’s budget, they are thinking about spending.’

Furniture prices helped drive consumer price inflation to a 30-year-high in March, said the ONS. They surged by 16.8% on a year before.

Ms Given said Made.com had increased its prices, saying retailers in the industry have had to pass on some of the impact of hefty shipping, commodity and labour costs to customers.

The reason given for canceling a subscription service in more than 50% of cases was ‘money saving’


The former Superdry and TK Maxx executive, who spoke during the World Retail Congress event said she expects the luxury sector to face challenges over the coming months.

‘I think this market will mean there will be a heightened demand for what customers see as better value products,’ she said.

‘There isn’t a business around, in furnishing or elsewhere, that won’t have had to reassess their pricing this year, and it means there is always potential people will start pricing down.’

Consumer cutbacks come as basic pay rises fall well behind inflation, with many firms not planning to increase wages at all.

The Chartered Management Institute said workers were seeking pay rises and extra help from their organisations because of the cost-of-living crisis but often come away ‘empty handed’.

Research from 1,000 managers showed about half of firms were giving basic pay awards but a similar number reported no rises.

Basic pay awards were reported to be 2.8% on average, well below the 7% inflation rate.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
×