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

midian182

midian182

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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

 
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.
 
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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.
 
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Well, that lasted 1 month. The second bill will be 10% higher than the first. I sure hope this doesn't become a monthly thing....

We just got the bundle with HBO because our previous subscriber raised HBO last week from $5 to $18.49. So we Cancelled HBO with DirecTV (which was AT&T TV when we were granted the deal 8-10 years ago; we somehow still have their Live a Little plan, but @ 3 times the original cost).

D: We are Justified in raising out prices because--well, They did it first!
(that's always been a good reason, right?)

I wouldn't mind so much IF THERE WAS JUST SOMETHING TO WATCH!!! Too many repeats = same story with different characters, turning a cartoon into a live version Of The Same Thing, 4+ Origin Stories for one character. Sheesh!!!
(yeah, I'd cancel them all if my wife would let me and just get library movies & shows, kanopy, Tubi, etc.) <rant end>
 
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I feel like it's normal for businesses to raise their prices every year. I don't know any business who lowers theirs or keeps it the same. If they did that they would go out of business in no time flat. This is because of inflation where everything goes up slightly every year so they need to raise prices to compensate.

Maybe I should buy Disney stock now since they will be making more money and they pay dividends, so those can pay for part of the subscription. If you buy enough stock $18,000 - the dividends will fully cover your subscription, plus you get the capital appreciation too
 
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Anyone with an American Express card. If you want the Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max Bundle, all with no ads, you can get it for 32.99 a month after tax and a lifetime $10 per month credit on your card so long as you keep the bundle.

I mean, $23 a month for all 3, ad free.
 
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toooooot said:
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.
Click to expand...
I think maybe you are underestimating the sheer number of dumbasses in the world.
 
With regard to stopping the sailing of the high seas all these streaming companies must have little in the way of toes or feet left.
 
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