A new report from Reviews.org reveals that the average American now spends $3,275 per year on consumer media, including internet, TV, mobile streaming, and mobile expenses.
And while cost of living and rising expenses are top of mind for most Americans this year, monthly connectivity expenses have actually decreased by 3% since last year.
The average American’s monthly streaming TV budget decreased by $13 in 2024 (now $42 per month), which could be due to a combination of wider adoption of cheaper ad-supported tier streaming subscriptions and also consumers choosing to use fewer streaming services.
Reviews.org dug into the data to see where Americans are currently overspending on consumer media and how they can save.
Here are some key findings from the report:
- The average American spends a total of $3,275 per year on consumer media.
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- The average monthly costs of each of these services are as follows:
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- Internet – $69/month (down from $81 in 2023)
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- Mobile Plans – $61/month (down from $66 in 2023)
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- Streaming – $42/month (down from $55 in 2023)
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- Cable TV – $88/month (up from $80 in 2023)
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- Americans are overspending nearly 40% on their mobile plan by sticking with one of the “big 3” carriers (T-Mobile, AT&T, or Verizon) instead of switching to a more affordable MVNO (like Visible, Mint Mobile, or Tello).
- The average American only pays for 2 streaming subscriptions in 2024
- 1 in 4 Americans (27.8%) experience streaming fatigue, citing too many subscriptions as overwhelming.
- The average household spends 5 hours a day on mobile screens, and up to 16 hours a day of total screen time across their devices.
To read more, here’s the full report: https://www.reviews.org/internet-service/cost-of-internet-streaming-and-cell-phone-bills/
