Disney Plus price hike is back, this time an annual practice

Disney Plus is hiking prices on most of its plans and bundles once again, in what has become something resembling an annual tradition. The company also confirmed that the hikes will affect new and existing subscribers, with some of the steepest increases targeting the ad-supported tier and the ad-free Premium plan.

What’s changing and who will pay more on Disney Plus

The ad-supported version of Disney Plus that will be sold as a standalone service itself will grow from $9.99 a month to $11.99 a month. (The ad-free Disney Plus Premium plan goes from $15.99 to $18.99 per month.) Those increases alone reset the baseline for lots of homes and indicate where Disney believes it has pricing power.

Bundles are also going up. The Disney Plus and Hulu ad-supported bundle goes from $10.99 to $12.99 a month, and the Disney Plus Premium, Hulu and ESPN Select Bundle Legacy goes up by $3 to $24.99 per month. Packages that count Max as an ingredient are all receiving $2 to $3 increases, depending on the build.

That’s important because it applies not just to new customers but to current ones, effectively eliminating the grace period that some streamers still allow when a repricing of tiers occurs.

Why the hikes keep coming for Disney’s streaming apps

Disney is aiming for steady profitability in streaming after years of costly spending on content and technology. On recent earnings calls, executives have called price discipline, less content paid, and higher ARPU core levers. Increasing rates is the shortest route to higher ARPU, and it tends to be a reasonably sticky one if you have a strong release calendar with which they coincide.

There’s also a bigger industry reality: The price for premium series, sports rights and global distribution hasn’t come down. The vast majority of major platforms — Netflix, Max, Peacock, Apple TV+ — have raised prices over the past year. Research firms like Kantar and Antenna have repeatedly noted that higher prices can be undertaken successfully — if the service in question offers perceived value, and churn is kept to a minimum.

Bundles and ads: where Disney wants you to land

Disney’s pricing structure leaves no doubt that Disney wants to steer people toward two results: the ad-supported tier, or a bundle with Hulu at its nexus. Both paths serve the company for different reasons.

Ad-supported models layer advertising revenue on top of subscriptions, and often generate ARPU levels that match or surpass ad-free options. As Disney has grown its streaming ad business, it did so by relying on the sales machine it already had in place around Hulu and by opening up Disney Plus to advertisers in more markets. Industry watchers like Antenna have reported that ad tiers are representing an increasing share of new sign-ups across streaming — a trend Disney is eager to increasingly capitalize on.

When it comes to reducing churn, however, bundles have long been a proven tool. Subscribers who bundle Disney Plus with Hulu — and, in some cases, ESPN content — are more likely to stick around longer, use the site more and aren’t as sensitive about price. For Disney, that means more predictable cash flows and a broader canvas for cross-promotion, from family-friendly franchises to prestige drama and live sports.

The risk: subscriber fatigue, cancellations and churn

Price increases are structured to flirt with cancellation risk. Consumer surveys from Deloitte’s Digital Media Trends show that U.S. households typically subscribe to about five paid streaming services on average, and are increasingly open to juggling their lineup of online TV offered in order to keep their bills under control. Antenna’s churn studies indicate several spikes in the wake of high price changes, especially when those increases come without a visible new release.

Disney’s retort is to staff each cycle of increases with tent-pole programming and franchise extensions. For its Marvel and Star Wars films, as well as for Pixar and 20th Century titles, the pipeline continues to be a leading rationale for charging more. Disney has also pruned underperforming catalog and slowed the cadence of originals, wagering that fewer, bigger swings can hold attention better than sheer volume.

What this means for your bill and subscription plans

For those who opt for ad-free watching, it’s a significant jump to $18.99 per month, making Disney Plus one of the more expensive individual services you can get — especially if you’re looking for 4K and Dolby features that are typically locked behind premium tiers.

It’s a different story if you tolerate ads or welcome bundles: the Disney Plus and Hulu bundle is still one of the stronger pairings in terms of how much content per dollar, despite the increase.

Those who rotate subscriptions from household to household could opt for a “content season” schedule: Subscribe when a tentpole drops for the month, and then back off. Disney, along with competitors, increasingly allows for more flexible controls within the app that can mitigate frustration even as monthly rates escalate.

Bottom line: how Disney Plus price hikes impact viewers

Disney Plus is once again pushing the limits of how much consumers will pay for a digital service and, increasingly, that trend feels like déjà vu. The company’s plan is clear: drive more users into ad-supported and bundled plans, increase ARPU on the ad-free loyalists and maintain an unrelenting drumbeat of must-watch releases to justify the premium. Whether that balance holds may depend on execution — and on how much subscription fatigue consumers are willing to endure in an increasingly crowded streaming market.