The Big Picture
Prices are about to rise in a major way (again) for the Disney bundle. Back in August, CEO Bob Iger introduced sweeping changes to the pricing model for Disney’s major streaming platforms — Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+. While it comes with a new duo bundle that will offer both Hulu and Disney+ at a deep discount, it also means significant hikes across the board for all three streamers.
On October 12, Disney+’s ad-free plan will jump from $10.99 to $13.99 per month while Hulu’s will jump up the same amount, going from $14.99 to $17.99. The ad-supported plans, which Disney is hoping to push more consumers toward, will remain the same for both platforms. When considering last year’s December increase that already made individual services from Disney more expensive, Hulu’s premium plan has risen $5 per month within the past calendar year while Disney+’s has gone up $6 to further separate it from the recently-introduced ad-supported tier. ESPN+ subscribers will also see an inflated bill, though not by nearly as much as the subscription will jump from $9.99 to $10.99.
The increase will also affect the Hulu + Live TV offering with both the ad-supported and ad-free tiers seeing a $7 increase to $76.99 and $89.99 respectively. The caveat to all these price hikes is the new duo premium bundle which will now offer both Disney+ and Hulu’s ad-free plans for only $19.99, a discount of over $10 relative to purchasing both separately. Subscribers have been able to start switching over to this new plan since September 6. Additionally, previously existing bundles are still in place with the ad-supported Hulu and Disney+ bundle staying at $9.99 and the trio bundle featuring all three platforms still in place, though it’s now being offered for $24.99 amid the restructuring.
Disney Plans to Expand Its Ad-Supported Plan to Other Countries
Outside the U.S., Disney is looking to extend the reach of its ad-supported plan to Canada and select EMEA markets by launching a new standard tier, as well as standard with ads for Disney+ on November 1. The new ad-supported plans start at £4.99/€5.99 per month in EMEA and $7.99/month in Canada. These markets aren’t exempt from the price hikes though. Disney promises increases to premium subscriptions starting in December, so subscribers who don’t want to start paying the higher price will have to swap plans before the change.
Disney was eager to tout the success of its ad-supported plan in the previous earnings call in August, saying 3.3 million customers had signed up for it since its launch. Joe Earley, President, Direct-to-Consumer, Disney Entertainment, said in a statement:
“The strong momentum of our ad-supported plans in the U.S. demonstrates the importance of providing consumers with choice, flexibility and value. We are excited to expand that offering in more markets across the globe, including in Europe and Canada, and to launch a new premium duo bundle of ad-free Disney+ and Hulu this Fall, as we take steps toward making extensive Hulu content available via Disney+ later this year for Bundle subscribers.”
No matter what new bundles are added, or extra options there are, a price increase is a price increase and consumers will have to pay more for the services they’ve been enjoying. Iger has been claiming for some time that a price adjustment was necessary to bring Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+ in line with what they believed the platforms were worth, but it’s an especially frustrating move following the end of the WGA strike, passing the buck to the consumer as actors are still on strike to fight for better pay. Iger, previously, called the asks of both guilds unrealistic, despite streamers bringing in unprecedented profits in recent years.
In addition to all this, Disney looks to follow Netflix’s example and crack down on password sharing in order to get more paying subscribers onto their platforms. Iger revealed in August that the House of Mouse will begin utilizing certain tactics to prevent illicit sharing in 2024. Stay tuned here at Collider for more on Disney’s future and their plans for their streaming platforms going forward.
