Disney+ will next year introduce a $1 price hike for subscribers in the United States, taking the monthly cost to $7.99 a month or $79.99 per year. The Disney Bundle, which includes Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN Plus, will also see a $1 increase to $13.99 a month. The price increases will come into effect on March 26, 2021.
The announcement follows Disney Investor Day, which saw the company unveil new franchises and content coming to the service, including 10 new Marvel series, 10 new Star Wars series, and several Disney Animation studios projects.
Streaming rival Netflix raised its prices in October, making its standard and premium plans more expensive. During the last Netflix earnings call, Netflix COO Greg Peters said that if Netflix is delivering more value for users, then there is "an opportunity to occasionally go back" and ask members "to pay a little bit more." Disney now looks to be using the same logic.
It remains unclear if the price increase will apply to Disney+ subscribers in other countries, but Netflix has upped prices in the U.S. before and then rolled out those price hikes to other countries shortly after.
Disney yesterday announced that its streaming service has hit 86.8 million subscribers, a milestone that it has reached 13 months after launching.
