Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ Are All Raising Their Prices Very Soon

Another day, another price increase to subscribers favorite streaming services. Deadline reports Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ subscribers will see a change in their packages very soon.

The news comes amid the controversy surrounding Disney/ABC halting The Jimmy Kimmel Show amid jokes he made about Charlie Kirk’s assasination. His show has since been reinstated, but several local ABC affiliate stations owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group will continue pre-empting Kimmel’s late night talk show as continued conversations are had.

Per Disney+, the move to increase subscriptions was made prior to the controversy. Beginning October 21, a subscription to Disney+ will increase by two dollars a month, to $11.99. Various bundles, with and without ads, are rising for combinations of Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+. 

This is the fourth change in price from Disney in four years. Deadline notes the company has continued with raising prices in streaming. Industry wide, many streaming companies have increased prices, but Disney has seemingly increased the most at a rapid pace.

Disney has seen some backlash from consumers amid the Kimmel controversy. Thousands of social media posts from every day people and celebrity testimonials promised to cancel subscriptions. It’s unclear what those actual numbers turned out to be. The 2024 election is said to have also played a part, per Deadline’s report.

Streaming companies have noted the current economy via inflation and more demand for streaming services versus linear television as two primary contributors to the rising costs. “We certainly look to continue to increase pricing in line with the value that we’re providing to consumers,” Disney CFO Hugh Johnston said in November. “And a lot of the growth that we’re seeing right now is because of the exceptional content that’s coming out of both the movie and the TV studios that’s obviously our proprietary content. So, that’ll certainly enable us to increase pricing over time.”