Disney+ raises prices again as ad-free plan climbs to more than three times its launch price

[midian182]

What just happened? Sick of streaming services constantly increasing their prices? Given that Disney is making Disney+ and Hulu more expensive, again, it appears that these companies just don't care, frankly. The increase comes exactly one year since the two services introduced their last price hike. Disney is trying to appease angry customers by pointing out that the increases aren't as high as those introduced by competitors.

The standalone ad-free plans for Disney+ and Hulu are each increasing from $18.99 to $21.49 per month – a $2.50 rise, or approximately 13.2%. The ad-free Disney+/Hulu bundle goes up by $2, from $19.99 to $21.99 per month.

The standalone ad-supported plans are each increasing by 50 cents, from $11.99 to $12.49 per month. However, the ad-supported Disney+/Hulu bundle, the most popular option, remains unchanged at $12.99 per month.

That means the two-service bundles cost just 50 cents more than either corresponding standalone subscription. Compared with buying both services separately, the bundles save approximately 48% with ads and 49% without ads.

The largest monthly increases across the wider lineup affect Hulu + Live TV: its standard and Premium packages each rise by $10, to $99.99 and $109.99, respectively.

Disney spouted the usual lines about investing in enhancements, such as new technology, features, and personalization, to strengthen the value it offers subscribers. It also pointed out that competitors have introduced larger price increases.

"While competitors have raised prices by an average of 13% this year, we are keeping the price of our most popular bundle unchanged and have increased our standalone ad-supported offerings by just 4%," a Disney spokesperson told TechRadar.

Disney has raised the US monthly price of Disney+'s ad-free subscription six times since launch, once each year from 2021 through 2026. The service arrived in November 2019 at $6.99 per month, rising to $7.99 in 2021, $10.99 in 2022, $13.99 in 2023, $15.99 in 2024 and $18.99 in 2025, before reaching $21.49 in September 2026. That's $14.50 more per month – a 207.4% increase, making the ad-free service just over three times its original price.

It's not just Disney, of course. The eight major subscription services now cost slightly more than $151 a month combined for ad-free plans purchased separately, without bundles, compared with roughly $90 for a similar lineup four years ago. That's far above the rate of inflation: consumer prices have increased by an average of 3.84% annually since 2019.

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Disney+ raises prices again as ad-free plan climbs to more than three times its launch price

 

[Theinsanegamer]

And people keep paying for it, so the price will forever climb.

 

[GeoffreyA]

Shiver me timbers...

 

[Win7user]

LOL

 

[onebignerd]

The Walt Disney Co. has become a greedy corporation, raising their prices as fast as colleges tuition. I love Disneyland and want to go, but not enough to pay upwards of $125 for a single day in the park.

Walt Disney has been gone 60 years. I think his eyebrow would shoot up as was a well known sign he did not like what he saw or heard, at how his company is soaking the "guests" for every dollar. On Walt's regular walk throughs at Disneyland he would pay the fare for riding the main street bus (.10 cents, long before the single price admission ticket), pay for his food (O.J from the Sunkist Store, churros) even though park employees would often tell him he didn't need to pay. He would respond saying he didn't want to mess up their records he knew they had to keep on what was sold. Walt knew he was the boss, but at the same time would raise concern to Lilly (his wife) about not being able to get a seat at company events if they were late. Rest in peace Walt.

 

[The Talking Tech]

The "High Seas" have never been more rewarding than nowadays!

 

[Dr Roboto]

I signed up for Disney+ when it first launched. It was dirt cheap, and my kids were still young enough to enjoy a lot of the content. Then they started adding all the Marvel and Star Wars shows, and for a while it was a great value.

Eventually, though, it started getting stale, so I canceled for maybe a year or so. I rejoined for a few Disney-specific things, including the Taylor Swift movie/show for my daughter, and ended up keeping it around for a while.

But there’s just nothing on there for me anymore. I kept hoping to see some good new series or movies, but every time I checked, it felt like the same stuff I had seen a year earlier. Honestly, I got more use out of the $1 Hulu subscription that came with it.

So I dropped Disney+ again about a month ago, and at this point I don’t see myself going back.

I used to be a pretty big supporter of Disney, but that ship has sailed. The parks, the streaming service, all of it, it’s just gotten way too expensive for what you actually get.

I guess all good things eventually come to an end. Personally, I think Walt Disney would roll over in his grave if he saw what Disney has become today.

 

[Honest Abe]

This is why I run Saltbox on my own server.

 

[toooooot]

Who are these people who allow their content to be interrupted by 5 ads per hour of content?
Show them to me, I cannot comprehend how it is possible.