Disney has announced it’s raising the price of its main Disney Plus and Hulu tiers – and it looks like Netflix is to blame.
following the company’s Q3 2023 earnings call, the most expensive Disney Plus and Hulu subscriptions are going up in price. Disney Plus Premium, which allows users to stream in 4K and watch the service on four screens simultaneously, increases from $10.99 to $13.99 per month / $109.99 to $139.99 per year in the US (more about UK prices below). Meanwhile, Ad-Free Hulu will increase from $14.99 to $17.99 per month. The changes take effect on October 12.
But it’s not all bad news for customers looking to subscribe to two of the world’s top streaming services. Starting September 6, Disney will be rolling out a new bundle called Duo Premium, which gives customers access to Disney Plus and Hulu’s non-ad-supported tiers for $19.99 per month. However, there is no annual plan available to purchase.
Meanwhile, in the UK, Disney will rename its most expensive tier to Disney Plus Premium. From 1 November, new users can sign up for this plan for £10.99 a month / £109.90 a year, and access the same features as US subscribers at this tier. Existing customers will keep their current plan but have the option to switch to the streamer’s Standard plans (for £7.99 a month / £79.90 a year) or Standard with Ads plans.
Speaking of the ad-supported tier, Disney will finally roll this out to UK shores on November 1 as well. Users can sign up for this plan for just £4.99 per month. However, unlike the Premium and Standard tiers, the Disney Plus ad-supported plan does not allow users to download the best Disney Plus shows and top Disney Plus movies to watch on the go.
In addition, Standard and Ads paying customers can only stream in 1080p and on two devices. The tier that supports ads is also not available as an annual subscription.
Bringing the ad-based battle to Netflix
Disney’s price hikes are sure to anger fans who use one or both of their primary streaming platforms. The entertainment giant didn’t raise the price of Disney Plus until December 2022, so the prospect of paying more – especially during a cost-of-living crisis – will be a bitter pill to swallow for users.
In defense of the company’s decision to raise prices during its Q3 2023 earnings call (courtesy The Motley Fool for the transcript), Disney CEO Bob Iger explained why customers were being asked to pay more. Unfortunately, his answer will not be music to anyone’s ears.
“We’ve raised prices in nearly 50 countries around the world to better reflect the value of our product offerings,” Iger said. Of course people are happy to pay money for top tier content including The bear, Guardians of the Galaxy 3And avatar2. But if viewers think they’re not getting their money’s worth, check out the generally negative response to Secret invasionMarvel’s latest TV show, to prove it – Iger’s comments will ring hollow and be little more than a soundbite to appease investors.
However, Disney will argue that the introduction of its ad-based plan in the UK (and other countries, including Canada, France and Germany) will give customers a cheaper tier to subscribe to. Also, keeping the ad-supported tier in the US at just $7.99 a month is Disney’s way of making sure it offers a cost-effective plan for those on a budget.
Still, I can’t help but feel that these price hikes, plus the rollout of the Disney Plus ad subscription in Canada and Europe, are unwarranted, especially as families struggle to make ends meet and ongoing writers’ and actors’ strikes continue. . . In fact, I’d say it’s Netflix’s fault Disney made these changes.
We all know that in November 2022, Netflix rolled out its own ad-based plan — called Basic with Ads — as a way to force people on a budget to sign up to the platform. As of May 2023 (as of The edge), five million people had opened a Netflix account with the cheapest plan. That’s a tiny fraction of the company’s 238 million strong fan base, but it proves that Netflix’s plan to make its service more affordable (and appealing) to everyone is working.
That’s where Disney comes in. The introduction of the ad-based tier of Disney Plus — a month after Netflix launched its own schedule, remember — has been deemed a success by Iger and company. According to Disney’s CEO, 40% of new Disney Plus subscribers (in the US) have signed up for the Standard with Ads plan. The total number of users who joined Disney Plus through the ad-supported subscription was 3.3 million as of July 1 (i.e. the end of Disney’s Q3 2023 period).
Clearly, Disney thinks it can convince even more people to transfer their hard-earned cash and open an account at its Standard with Ads tier – which is why it’s rolling out the scheme to more countries. After all, if it wasn’t successful, why give more users the choice to sign up for this plan? With Disney soon looking to restrict password sharing on Disney Plus (and possibly Hulu), offering new customers a low-cost plan will also help them significantly increase their user base.
That’s all well and good from a business perspective, especially if you want to stop bleeding money, as Disney has done in recent years. But if you don’t deliver must-have content to subscribers, people won’t have a reason to sign up. Even worse, current users may have their accounts temporarily or permanently closed.
So like Netflix, Disney can’t fall into the trap of making substandard movies and TV series. It should give us great shows like Only kills in the buildingor tantalize us with hotly anticipated offers, including the upcoming ones Star Wars: Ahsoka And Loki season 2. That makes the price hikes a little more pleasant, even if you and I disagree. If it doesn’t work out, though, the alternative isn’t much to think about – either for Disney or for subscribers who stick around and may face further price increases over time.
For more Disney Plus and Hulu coverage, read our guides to the best Hulu shows, the best Hulu movies, and new Disney Plus movies.