It’s interesting that whenever Disney’s top brass goes by the name Bob, you can bet your bottom dollar that a Disney+ price bump is on the horizon. Don’t believe us? Well, guess who recently decided to raise the Disney+ subscription fees?
First reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Disney has announced an increase in subscription costs for its Disney+ and Hulu ad-free tiers, alongside ESPN+. Fortunately, the cost of the ad-supported tiers will remain unchanged.
The motivation behind Disney’s decision lies partly in its strategy to consolidate Disney+ and Hulu content into one app, even though the individual services will continue to exist separately. Here’s a complete breakdown of the new pricing structure:
- Disney+ (ad-supported tier): $7.99
- Disney+ (ad-free tier): $10.99 to $13.99 per month [annual price will increase to $139.99]
- Hulu (ad-supported tier): $7.99 per month
- Hulu (ad-free tier): $14.99 to $17.99 per month
- New Disney+ and Hulu bundle (ad-supported tier): $9.99
- New Disney+ and Hulu bundle (ad-free tier): $19.99
- ESPN+ (ad-supported tier): $9.99 to $10.99 per month [annual price will increase to $109.99]
- Hulu with Live TV: $69.99 to $76.99
- Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu bundle (ad-supported tier) – $12.99 to $14.99 per month
- Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu bundle (ad-free tier) – $19.99 to $24.99 per month
Starting on October 12, the most recent round of price increases will come into effect, marking Disney’s second adjustment to prices following a comparable hike introduced in December last year. Hopefully, this isn’t indicative of an on-going trend.
Thankfully, audiences across Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and various other European countries can anticipate the introduction of Disney+’s ad-supported tier starting on November 1. Within Europe, the ad-supported option will start at £4.99/€5.99 per month, and across Canada, it will launch at a monthly rate of $7.99.
Nonetheless, a policy that might not sit well with Disney+ subscribers is the recent announcement outlining the company’s intention to clamp down on password sharing, mirroring the contentious strategy previously adopted by Netflix. Expressing his perspective on this matter, CEO Bob Iger shared his thoughts, stating:
We’re actively exploring ways to address account sharing and the best options for paying subscribers to share their accounts with friends and family. We will roll out tactics to drive monetization sometime in 2024.
Netflix’s recent approach to password sharing, despite facing initial public criticism, has proven to be a strategic success. Although Disney is considering a similar approach, adopting a barrage of new policies all at once doesn’t come across as the most prudent strategy.
As numerous households are currently streamlining their active subscriptions, Disney might unintentionally position itself for potential subscriber cuts. Moreover, the timing doesn’t seem quite right given the limited new content Disney can offer its subscribers as a result of the Hollywood strikes.
