Despite a price hike in late 2022, Disney is still looking to jack up the monthly cost of its Disney+ and other streaming options.
Disney+ banner
the price of Disney+ by $3 before the end of 2022, a 30% increase from $7.99 per month to $10.99 per month for subscribers in the United States. The company's CEO, Bob Iger, has said before that he believes Disney+ pricing is not quite correct, and the service is apparently marching towards whatever vision he has.
As reported by Variety, Disney is going to hike up the price of Disney+ yet again, with the new price going into effect beginning October 12, 2023. Disney+ will jump up 27%, from $10.99 to $13.99 per month for streamers in the U.S.
On top of that, Hulu will be raising the price of its ad-free tier to $17.99 per month, up from $14.99 per month -- a 20% increase. The ad-supported tiers for Disney+ and Hulu will remain at $7.99 per month.
The pair of Hulu + Live TV plans are going up $7 per month, with the ad-supported option going up to $76.99 and the ad-free option going up to $89.99 per month. Even ESPN+ isn't avoiding the price hike, going up by $1 to $10.99 per month.
On the international side of things, the ad-supported option for Disney+ is launching in Canada, the United Kingdom, and an additional eight European countries beginning November 1, 2023. In Canada, the streaming service will cost $7.99, 4.99 in the UK, and 5.99 in France, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.
In December of 2023, Disney will be raising the prices for the ad-free tiers of Disney+ in those same regions. What's more, following in Netflix's footsteps, Disney will be working on tools to crack down on password-sharing, which should debut sometime in 2024.
Price hikes galore
While Bob Iger isn't going out of his way to say just how much he believes Disney+ should cost per month, it's obvious the company is not afraid to keep hiking prices. Since the service launched four years ago, Disney+ has doubled in price from $6.99 per month.
Apple TV+ banner
When Disney+ launched, it was easy to compare it to Apple TV+'s pricing, which was $4.99 per month. The two services were compared due to pricing and available content, with Disney+ outpacing Apple TV+ and only costing a couple of dollars more.
However, while Apple TV+ did raise its price from $4.99 per month to $6.99 per month, Apple has been adding new films, series, and documentaries on a semi-regular basis. It has managed to avoid doubling its monthly cost so far.