Rising prices for live entertainment have long frustrated American consumers, but now the same inflationary pressure is following people directly into their living rooms.
The phenomenon, widely known as “funflation,” originally described sharply higher prices for concerts, sporting events, and other live experiences that were halted during pandemic lockdowns.
Now, at-home pastimes including streaming movies and playing video games are pinching pocketbooks just as aggressively, according to new data analyzed by PNC Financial Services for CNBC.
“Funflation is back in 2026,” said Brian LeBlanc, PNC’s senior economist, noting the trend is now visible in home leisure in addition to travel and concerts.
PNC’s data shows the average consumer pulled back on home entertainment spending in June compared with a year earlier, with Gen Z and Millennial consumers each cutting their transactions by about 4%.
Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Netflix (NFLX), and Spotify have all raised prices in the past year, contributing to what analysts are calling “streamflation” across the subscription entertainment landscape.
Netflix, Amazon, and Spotify announced increases earlier this year, following similar moves by Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery’s HBO Max in late 2025, while Apple raised prices for its TV+ service for the third time in as many years.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported a 53% surge in the price of subscribing to or renting videos and video games since the start of 2019, while TV services climbed 27% and music subscriptions rose 14%.
Electricity prices have skyrocketed 45% since 2019, partially driven by supply shocks tied to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the war with Iran in 2026, according to government data, making powering home entertainment devices costlier than ever.
Microsoft’s (MSFT) Xbox and Apple each announced price hikes for devices in late June, which Apple acknowledged in a statement was “not welcome news,” while Nintendo said it was raising the price of its Switch 2 in the U.S. by 11%.
Companies have blamed higher prices on more expensive components resulting from the artificial intelligence-driven memory chip crunch, with Deborah Weinswig, founder of Coresight Research, warning that some increases could price out consumers entirely.
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma said gaming is becoming unaffordable and that the company will focus on making less-costly consoles, stating, “We’ve reached a point where it will be hard to imagine that mass audiences can afford thousands of dollars to spend on a console generation.”
Computers and related devices had gotten cheaper over time when adjusted for inflation, but that trend has begun to reverse as component costs rise, according to Elizabeth Renter, NerdWallet senior economist.
Tubi, the free service from Fox Corp. (FOX), has seen its viewership numbers exceed those of leading streamers in some cases, as executives bet that consumers tired of rising monthly subscriptions would watch ads in exchange for free content.
Consumers are adopting creative workarounds, with some rotating in and out of streaming subscriptions and others, like Illinois graduate student Alyx Green, watching YouTube videos of others playing games rather than purchasing titles themselves.
“The price has been going up,” Green said. “It’s just hard to keep up.”
Annual inflation has spiked in out-of-home funflation categories like sporting events and amusement park visits in 2026, with PNC warning these categories are putting upward pressure on the core personal consumption expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge.
This year’s FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by the U.S., has fetched a median ticket price topping $900, according to TicketData, with FIFA President Gianni Infantino telling CNBC that attending a match was a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Consumer sentiment has dropped to record lows in recent months, according to a closely followed index from the University of Michigan, as higher recreational costs deepen economic pessimism across the country.
“The ability to play games and get out of my own life for a second was a major way for me to have some sort of happiness,” Green said. “Now, the overall economy is getting worse, and I don’t have any distractions from it.”
