Price rises for Disney+ subscribers are hitting this month, with increases of up to 20% being introduced across its plans. More here. The fundamental belief from streaming companies that we all seem to have bottomless pockets is beginning to be tested. Netflix, solidified by a huge subscriber base, is nonetheless leaking customers and engagement, and ... Disney+ hikes up its prices again, and they’re about to hit subscribers
Price rises for Disney+ subscribers are hitting this month, with increases of up to 20% being introduced across its plans. More here.
The fundamental belief from streaming companies that we all seem to have bottomless pockets is beginning to be tested. Netflix, solidified by a huge subscriber base, is nonetheless leaking customers and engagement, and apparently has been for some time.
Now, Disney+ is rolling out another round of price rises across its platform, and those are hitting the UK over the coming weeks.
They’re actually already in place for new subscribers, but existing monthly customers will find the new charges applying from 18th November. Annual subscribers meanwhile have until 2nd December to avoid the next round of increases.
The monthly cost of the standard with ads package is moving up from £5.99 to £6.99. The standard package is going up by £2, from £9.99 to £11.99 a month. And then the premium, top-end subscriber level will now set you back £15.99 a month, up by a pound.
Discounts remain in place if you commit to an annual subscription plan, but even on the standard level, that’s going up by £20 a year.
Plans are also afoot to spread more advertising across the service.
The problem the likes of Disney+ and Netflix face, outside of increased competition, is that a fair few people have more than one streaming subscription on the go, and at a point where household disposable incomes are being squeezed, that’s looking more and more like a luxury. It’s telling that when customers go to cancel one or two of these services, they’re often automatically being offered a better short term deal to hang around.
None of this is likely to stop streaming companies jacking up the prices of their services again next year, but we’ll cross that bridge inevitably. In the meantime, Disney+ justifies its increases in an email to subscribers, thus:
To keep bringing you the very best in entertainment, we’re investing in the stories you love. We’re committed to bringing you the highest quality new productions, alongside fan favourites from Disney, Hulu, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic and ESPN. As part of our continued investment in delivering world-class entertainment, the price of your [plan] will increase to [whatever amount your plan is] per month on.
How many of the stories you love are on Disney+? Disney might be about to find out…
