Disney+ price jumps sharply

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You'll be paying more to stream Disney, Marvel and Star Wars series.
Photo: The Walt Disney Company

Disney will soon hike the monthly subscription price of its streaming service almost 40%. When Disney+ first launched, it was one of the cheapest streaming streaming services. Not for much longer.

The company also increased the cost of Hulu and ESPN+.

Disney+ is more expensive for everyone

It’s not hard to guess the reason for the price rise: Disney+ isn’t anywhere close to being profitable. Quite the opposite. In the spring quarter alone, Disney’s three streaming services lost $1.1 billion. Users want fresh content, like The Mandalorian season 3 and and Loki season 2, but these shows are expensive to produce.

Disney+ debuted in 2019 at $6.99 per month. That later went up to $7.99 per month. And on December 8, it’ll jump to $10.99 per month, with an annual subscription at $109.99.

But there’s a way to get Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, Disney, etc. shows for less. A new ad-supported subscription will also debut in December. This will cost $7.99 per month, with no annual subscription available.

After the change, the service is still more affordable than Netflix but much more expensive than Apple TV+, while rivals like Discovery+ and Paramount+ already offer ad-supported plans from $4.99 per month.

Hulu and ESPN+ price increases

Hulu, which the Mouse also owns, is getting a price increase as well. A premium subscription without advertising will be $14.99 price month, a $2 jump. Hulu with ads will be $7.99 per month.

Disney is raising the cost of ESPN+ with ads to $9.99 per month.

“With our new ad-supported Disney+ offering and an expanded lineup of plans across our entire streaming portfolio, we will be providing greater consumer choice at a variety of price points to cater to the diverse needs of our viewers and appeal to an even broader audience,” said Kareem Daniel, Chairman, Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution.

Source: Disney

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