Disney has announced plans to hike the price of a Disney Plus subscription in the US later this year
Disney has stated that they will be increasing the price of a Disney Plus subscription in the United States later this year. To coincide with the advent of the streaming service’s upcoming $7.99/month ad-supported premium tier, the change will be implemented on December 8 (i.e., the same as an existing Disney Plus subscription). During a recent earnings call, company executives announced that the monthly price of the ad-free version of the service would increase from $79.99 to $10.99, for a total annual price of $109.99. (opens in new tab). Customers in the UK and Australia may be spared the price hike for the time being, but we expect to see similar increases in all markets when Disney launches its ad-supported tier internationally in 2023. We’ve contacted Disney for comment and will revise this article accordingly.
Keep in mind that the price increase will not affect US subscribers who have already paid in advance for a yearly Disney Plus subscription. if, of course, it occurs after December 8th. Pricing increases have been implemented for both Hulu and ESPN Plus in the United States. Standard pricing for the former will increase from $12.99 to $14.99 on October 10, while the ad-supported price will rise from $6.99 to $7.99. The price of ESPN Plus is going up from $6.99 to $9.99 on August 23. The Disney Bundle, which includes Disney Plus without ads, Hulu without ads, and ESPN Plus with ads, will also go up in price, from $13.99 to $19.99.
According to company executives, rising production and programming costs have resulted in higher operating losses than in previous quarters despite adding more than 14 million subscribers to Disney Plus in Q3 2022, bringing the global total to an impressive 152 million. What is Disney’s long-awaited ad-supported tier, which debuts in the US on December 8 for $7.99 per month (there is no annual plan)?
Disney claims that the new tier will offer consumers more affordable options and provide a better viewing experience by reducing the number and prominence of advertisements. This claim was corroborated earlier this year when rumors spread that Disney’s ad-supported tier would limit commercials to four minutes per hour of content and would completely disable ads in kid-friendly user profiles. The latter was confirmed in Disney’s most recent earnings call. While Netflix has seen a drop in subscribers due to rising food and fuel prices, one has to wonder if Disney is ready for the same thing to happen to its streaming service.