Later this year, Disney+ will increase its price from $7.99 a month to $10.99 a month. The change comes as Disney+ introduces its ad-supported membership, which comes with a frustrating monthly fee—a familiar $7.99 per month. Oh, and Hulu is also getting a price hike, because why not?
It seems that ad-supported Disney+ won’t be the bargain we expected. It simply replaces the old $7.99 per month ad-free membership. By all means, this is a bad deal for families who are struggling to deal with the global economic downturn; Disney had an opportunity to offer something cheaper, but it decided to rake in more cash instead.
To add insult to injury, ad-supported Disney+ launches on the same day as the Disney+ price hike. Both disappointments arrive on December 8th, when subscribers are more likely to stick around and watch holiday movies with their families.
Here are the full details:
- Disney+ Price Hike (December 8th): $10.99 (Previously $7.99)
- Disney+ with Ads Launch (December 8th): $7.99
- Hulu Price Hike (October 10th): $14.99 (Previously $12.99)
- Hulu with Ads Price Hike (October 10th): $7.99 (Previously $6.99)
- The Disney Bundle Price Hike: $14.99 (Previously $13.99)
- The Disney Bundle Ad-Supported Introduction: $9.99
The Hulu price hike occurs October 10th and affects both ad-free and ad-supported plans. It was announced earlier this month, but it seems more pertinent now than it did before. Notably, Hulu with Live TV will also launch an ad-supported plan (for $69.99 a month) later this year.
And yes, this price hike also affects “The Disney Bundle,” which includes Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. Notably, the ad-free Disney Bundle still costs just $20 a month, and a Disney Bundle with ad-supported Disney+ and Hulu will launch at an unknown date for $9.99 a month.
Obviously, the $19.99 ad-free Disney Bundle is still the way to go. It’s just a few dollars cheaper than ad-free Hulu or Disney+. But it seems that price hikes are inevitable here, and that Disney’s promise for “greater consumer choice at a variety of price points” will only give customers more ways to burn their money.
Source: Disney via Deadline
