Cordkillers 616: The Price Is Almost Right
Streaming prices are still climbing, but shrinking increases suggest services may finally be discovering how much subscribers will actually tolerate. Plus, Roku goes OLED, Pokémon expands its streaming empire, and Google decides a $99 streamer should suddenly cost $150. This week on The FULL Experience: Get Smart (513 - "Ice Station Siegfried") Next week: Get Smart (526 - "I Am Curiously Yellow") Subscribe, get expanded show notes, and past episodes at
Support Cordkillers at
http://Patreon.com/Cordkillers
YouTube:
Supply Run
Apple TV is raising its subscription price from $12.99 to $14.99 per month, with the annual plan now $119. It’s the service’s fourth price increase in four years.
https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/28/apple-tv-is-raising-its-subscription-prices-again/
But the era of aggressive streaming price hikes may be running out of room. Ampere Analysis says average increases from Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video have fallen from 24% per subscription in 2023–24 to 14% in 2025–26, suggesting streamers may be approaching the limits of what consumers will actually pay. Advertising and password-sharing crackdowns are also giving services other ways to grow revenue without relying entirely on higher subscription prices.
https://deadline.com/2026/08/netflix-disney-amazon-price-rises-fall-ampere-1237048581/
Search Party
All five seasons of Hacks are getting a complete-series Blu-ray box set, scheduled to arrive this fall.
https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/hacks-blu-ray-box-set-on-sale-this-holiday-season-1236843572/
Netflix is developing a six-part series based on Roald Dahl’s short stories for adults. Danny Brocklehurst will write the adaptation, with Nicola Coughlan, Imelda Staunton and Dominic West among the cast.
https://deadline.com/2026/08/netflix-roald-dahl-series-nicola-coughlan-dominic-west-1237050741/
Roku will stream eight NWSL Sunday-night matches for free through The Roku Channel this season.
https://www.engadget.com/2244997/roku-will-stream-select-nwsl-games-this-season/
The BBC has confirmed that Top Gear will return after going off the air in 2022, although the new hosting lineup has yet to be announced.
https://variety.com/2026/tv/global/bbc-top-gear-return-1236844959/
Toy Story 5 arrives on Disney+ September 23.
Buried Treasure
Brian: Coyote vs. Acme
Tom: Your Name
Scanning the Horizon
Disney+ has greenlit the stop-motion series Pokémon Tales: The Misadventures of Sirfetch’d & Pichu for 2027 as part of a broader Pokémon distribution agreement that also includes Pokémon the Series: The Beginning .
https://deadline.com/2026/08/disney-pokemon-stop-motion-series-distribution-deal-1237062141/
A new movie, Pokémon: Wild Card , is also headed to theaters worldwide in 2027 after being announced at the Pokémon World Championships.
https://variety.com/2026/film/news/pokemon-wild-card-movie-release-date-teaser-1236847050/
Tippett Studio is closing its Berkeley facility and selling some materials while keeping its Toronto operation open. The company says stop-motion remains part of its capabilities but no longer requires such a large permanent physical footprint.
https://gizmodo.com/animator-phil-tippett-retired-and-sold-his-studio-this-weekend-2000804766
Amazon has joined the YouTube Shopping affiliate program, allowing creators to tag Amazon products in videos, Shorts and livestreams and earn commissions from resulting purchases.
https://www.engadget.com/2245799/youtube-creators-can-now-include-affiliate-links-to-amazon/
Google raised the price of the Google TV Streamer from $99 to $150.
Roku launched its first Roku-branded OLED televisions. The Pro Series OLED starts at $999, while the Pro Series LX OLED starts at $1,299 and adds a 144 Hz refresh rate, with 55- and 65-inch models available exclusively through Amazon.
Chatter
Amar recommends AMC’s The Audacity after discovering it on Netflix, describing it as Succession in Silicon Valley with some of the revenge flavor of Beef .
Tim writes in about surprisingly effective targeted advertising on Instagram, why Alexa+ breaking his grocery-list workflow was enough to make him disable it, and the disturbing possibility that Brian has somehow been holding back on AfterTalk.
Rob delivers something nobody knew they needed: Get Smart , ska edition.
Sean asks what happened to the proposed Full Experience crossover where Brian watches The Orville while Tom tackles something Brian has already seen.
Ralph from Jersey asks one of the great unanswered superhero questions raised by Lanterns : who exactly is paying for all those flights, rental cars, meals and beers when neither Green Lantern appears to have a day job?
Got something we should be on the lookout for? Email
.