Disney Plus to Cost $3 More Starting December, Ad-Based Plan to Launch at Current Price
During an earnings call this week, Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced the latest data available on their Disney Plus user base, and also let the world know about their future plans for the service.
Disney Plus added, between April and June, 14.4 million subscribers. While no specific explanation was given, this happened while the platform was added to forty-two new countries and eleven territories in Europe, West Asia, and Africa. Chapek added that, combining all of their streaming services, they already have more subscribers than Netflix — Disney Plus, with 152M, ESPN+, with 22.8M, and Hulu, with 46.2M, add up to 221M subscribers worldwide, barely surpassing Netflix’s recently-reported 220.67 million total global subs.
They are celebrating their victory with a new price tag on the service. Starting on December 8, Disney Plus will have two tiers. A basic tear, with four ads every hour, will see no price difference — it will be available for $7.99/month or $79.99/year. Alternatively, Disney Plus’ premium tier will be ad-free and it will cost $10.99/month or $109.99/year. Bundles with Hulu (for $9.99/month and $) and Hulu and ESPN+ (for $12.99/month) will also be available, though they will include ads. A premium bundle of all three streaming services will be available for $19.99/month (no change here). Chapek also said that there will be no ads in kids and preschool programming.
Kareem Daniel, Chairman, Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution, said in the earnings call:
“With our new ad-supported Disney+ offering and an expanded lineup of plans across our entire streaming portfolio, we will be providing greater consumer choice at a variety of price points to cater to the diverse needs of our viewers and appeal to an even broader audience. Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ feature unparalleled content and viewing experiences and offer the best value in streaming today, with over 100,000 movie titles, TV episodes, original shows, sports and live events collectively.”
Wall Street seems happy with the new report, as Disney’s share price went up $9 when the market opened on Thursday, compared to the price it had when it closed on Wednesday. How this affects the company in the long hall, we’ll have to see. But with inflation hiking up prices everywhere, people cutting unnecessary costs, and Netflix’s recent stumbling with their subscriber numbers, the model is definitely not as sustainable as Chapek might think. Still, he felt confident enough to increase the price of the service by $3 per month, the platform’s biggest increase yet.
This also comes during a highly competitive season in the streaming wars, with Amazon Studios putting out the biggest show of all time in The Rings of Power and HBO welcoming audiences back to Westeros with House of the Dragon. Disney Plus’ answer to that will be a She-Hulk live-action show that has been widely criticized on social media due to its eye-rolling visual effects and a Cassian Andor-centric series that had gone under most people’s radars until a couple of months ago. Granted, all four of these series will be completed when December comes around, but there will certainly be people that give up on Disney Plus in the next couple of months to justify signing up for Prime Video and/or HBO Max. Disney’s plan for December, as of now, only includes a Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special and new Star Wars animated series. The company could follow last year’s plan for Encanto, and release their new Thanksgiving animated movie, Strange World, a month after it releases in theaters. No official confirmation has been given for this, but the marketing campaign hasn’t really started for the movie, so it’s very possible.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
