Summer vacation is over, and subscription fatigue is finally upon us. Disney is increasing the prices of several streaming services. Starting in October, Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ will all increase in price by $1-2 depending on your plan.
On October 17, Disney will raise the price of its eponymous Disney+ streaming service to $10 per month with ads and $16 per month without ads. Hulu’s ad-supported plan is the same as Disney+’s, but without ads it jumps to $19 per month. Oddly, the package can’t be paid for as an annual bundle. And for sports fans, ESPN+ will increase to $12 per month with ads, but there’s no ad-free solution. After all, sports wouldn’t be what it is without ads.
Hulu with Live TV will see the biggest price increase, from $77 to $83 per month with ads and $90 to $96 per month without them. By comparison, I currently pay an extra $73 per month for YouTube TV and an additional $16 per month for the Max add-on package. Sling TV, another popular option for watching live TV, has a variety of packages, with its most expensive plan starting at $55 per month.
The bundle plan that includes Disney+ and ESPN+ is the only one that doesn’t see a price spike, which bodes well for those who have their carriers “pay for” their other subscriptions.
Even if you’re already spoiled with the luxury of paying for streaming, the news of the price hikes hurts at a time when it feels like everyone is struggling to pay their bills. Streaming is the primary way people consume entertainment to log off and disconnect from the world. That’s probably why Netflix, Paramount and NBC’s Peacock feel they can get away with announcing current or imminent price hikes.
Disney has been open about its plans to profit from its streaming business: The company plans to integrate free, ad-supported TV (FAST) into the app as an added value for customers who don’t have an active subscription or don’t want to bother scrolling through a digital TV guide.
If you don’t like the upcoming price changes, you can always vote with your money by opting out. Or set a monthly budget for things like streaming TV shows based on upcoming and currently airing shows, subscribing and unsubscribing when appropriate. Or give up on streaming TV altogether and move into the woods. Touch the grass.
