The Disney+ logo appears on a television screen in Paris on December 26, 2019.
Image: Chesnot | Getty Images
Disney plans to raise prices on almost all of its streaming services in order to boost profitability.
Starting from October 12, the cost of ad-free Disney+ will increase by 27% to $13.99 per month. The price of Disney+ with ads will remain at $7.99 per month. Additionally, Disney will expand its ad-supported offering to select markets in Europe and Canada from November 1.
Furthermore, Hulu without ads will see a 20% price hike, increasing to $17.99 per month. The price of Hulu with ads will remain the same at $7.99 per month.
For comparison, Netflix’s standard plan without commercials costs $15.49 per month, while Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max is $15.99 per month.
This move by Disney to charge prices almost on par with commercial-free Netflix and Max, and even higher for Hulu, indicates the company’s confidence in the competitiveness of its content library against these streaming services. Disney CEO Bob Iger initially set the price of Disney+ at $6.99 per month, nearly half the price of Netflix, when it launched in 2019.
Despite a previous $3 per month increase in the cost of Disney+, Iger revealed that the price hike had minimal impact on cancellations of the service. He stated, “We took a pretty significant price increase at Disney+ sometime late in 2022, and we really didn’t see significant churn or loss of subs because of that, which was actually heartening,” during Disney’s recent earnings call.
Iger emphasized that Disney is intentionally encouraging users to opt for its ad-supported services by maintaining the same prices for those offerings. He added that the advertising landscape for streaming is healthier compared to traditional linear TV.
During the call, Iger announced that Disney’s U.S. ad-supported service, launched in December, has gained 3.3 million subscribers. Around 40% of new Disney+ subscribers have chosen the ad-supported tier.
Disney Executive Chairman Bob Iger.
Image: Charley Gallay | Getty Images
Despite potential disruptions in its content pipeline due to Hollywood writers and actors strikes, Disney is confident that consumers will be willing to pay more for its streaming services.
For those who want both Disney+ and Hulu without commercials, a new “premium duo” offering will be available from September 6 at $19.99 per month, offering a $12 per month savings. The bundle of Disney+ and Hulu with ads will maintain its price of $9.99 per month.
Additionally, Disney has increased the price of its bundle consisting of Disney+ (no ads), Hulu (no ads), and ESPN+ (with ads) to $24.99 per month from $19.99 per month. The bundle with commercials will now cost $14.99 per month, an increase of $2 per month.
In its fiscal third quarter, Disney’s streaming division reported a loss of $512 million. Excluding India’s Hotstar, Disney+ gained 800,000 subscribers during the period and now has a total of 105.7 million Disney+ subscribers, with approximately 146 million subscribers across all its streaming services.
Furthermore, the price of Hulu + Live TV with ads will increase to $76.99 per month from $69.99 per month, while the commercial-free Hulu + Live TV will rise to $89.99 per month from $82.99 per month.
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Correction: This story was updated to reflect that the ad-free Disney+ price increase will take effect on October 12. A previous version misstated the date.
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