A MAJOR TV streaming service has quietly hiked bills for millions.
Apple has increased the cost of its monthly TV subscription by £1.
The streaming service gives customers access to a number of TV shows such as Severance and Ted Lasso.
Customers now pay £9.99 a month up from £8.99, with the change already in effect.
Back in October 2023, the major technology firm also raised the price of the service from £6.99 to £8.99.
But, there are a few ways you can access the subscription service for free.
If you are an Apple TV customer, you can cancel free of charge and see if you can score a free subscription.
A number of telecoms and retailers offer free trial subscriptions.
Apple gives customers a free three-month subscription when they buy a new Apple device, when you buy new products such as an iPhone or Mac.
Mobile providers such as EE, Vodafone and Virgin regularly offer customers free trials for the service, so it’s worth keeping an eye out.
When you sign up for Curry’s free loyalty scheme, you can also enjoy three free months of Apple TV.
But you will have to pay full price once the free trial ends.
If you are keen to keep Apple TV you can save £30.88 by paying upfront for a year.
Customers who are on a monthly contract will pay £119.88 based on the new price.
But Apple has not increased the cost of its annual up front charge, which comes in at £89.
More price hikes
And Apple is not the only streaming service to increase its prices.
Netflix raised its prices back in April.
A Standard membership saw their Netflix bill rise by £2 to £12.99 a month.
Meanwhile, Netflix Premium members are now charged £18.99 – £1 more than before.
The cost of the Standard subscription with adverts will also increase £1 to £5.99 a month.
The fee to add extra members to your plan also increased.
It now costs £5.99 a month to add an Extra Member without ads, which is an increase of £1.
Elsewhere, Virgin is raising the price of some of its 30-day rolling SIM-only contracts in weeks.
From October 1 prices are set to increase by £3 a month, which works out as an extra £36 a year.
It comes after the giant merged with O2, with customers who chose to stay with the provider put on rolling SIM-only contracts.
Some of these customers are currently paying as little as £4 a month for their unlimited airtime plans, so the increase would push up their bill to £7 a month.
Over the course of a year their bill would increase from £48 to £84.
How to save on broadband and mobile contracts
Consumer reporter Laura McGuire explains how to save on your broadband and mobile bill.
It is not uncommon to see your broadband or mobile contract increase.
This is typical because of pesky mid-term price hikes, which are written into a lot of broadband and mobile phone contracts.
These agreements mean that around April each year, providers can increase what they charge, usually in line with inflation plus an added percentage (for example, Consumer Prices Index inflation + 3.9%).
Since the start of this year, providers have been banned from doing this in percentage terms and will have to include an exact pounds and pence figure in your contract.
But this means customers still have to pay extra.
In the weeks before your contract is up, use comparison sites to familiarise yourself with the deals that are available.
It’s a known fact that new customers always get the best deals.
Sites including MoneySuperMarket and Uswitch all help you customise your search based on price, speed and provider.
This should make it easier to decide whether to renew your contract or move to another provider.
However, if you do not want to switch and are happy with the service you’re getting under your current provider – haggle for a better deal.
You can still make significant savings by renewing your contract rather than rolling on to the tariff you’re given after your deal.