The Walt Disney Company has finally revealed when subscribers can opt into a cheaper ad-supported version of Disney+, but at the same time the current ad-free version will see a 37% price hike. The announcement was made today that Disney+’s new ad-supported version will launch under the title of Disney+ Basic on December 8 for the U.S. market. However, anyone expecting to see the price of their subscription drop is going to be disappointed as the ad-supported tier will carry the same $7.99 price tag as the current Disney+ subscription, which itself will be rebranded as Disney+ Premium and have its monthly price increased to $10.99 a month.
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Many streaming platforms have been actively considering ad-supported tiers for a while now, with Disney+ being one of the first big streamers to set a date for the change to take place. At the same time, Disney also announced increases to their other services. On October 10, Hulu’s ad-supported tier will go from $6.99 to $7.99 while ad-free jumps from $12.99 to $14.99, while ESPN+ takes a huge hike from $6.99 to $9.99 per month from August 23. The regular Disney Bundle will rise to $14.99, but the premium version will remain at $19.99. Regarding the changes, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution President of Advertising Rita Ferro said:
“Since its launch, advertisers have been clamoring for the opportunity to be part of Disney+ and not just because there’s a growing demand for more streaming inventory. Disney+ with advertising will offer marketers the most premium environment in streaming with our most beloved brands, Disney, Pixar, Star Wars, Marvel and National Geographic. I can’t wait to share more with advertisers at the Upfront.”
Price News Comes As Disney+ Subscriber Numbers Hit 150 Million
Disney+ launched as one of the cheapest streaming platforms on the market, so it was not going to take long for the price to come more in line with others such as Netflix. However, the company has a target of reaching the staggering heights of 230-260 million subscribers by 2024 and has already surpassed 150 million, as was also revealed today.
As one of the newest platforms on the scene, Disney+ has some pretty major advantages over its competitors. From their extensive back catalog of animated classics and new live-action remakes, through the rapidly expanding Marvel Studios movies and TV series, to the Star Wars franchise, Disney+ have a ready-made stack of IPs that can keep them in new content for years to come without even starting on their newly acquired Fox franchises.
Although there are some who will not be happy at another increase in prices, Disney is essentially allowing those who want to continue to watch Disney+ at its current price, or join the service without paying the higher amount, to do so through their new ad-supported option. While they are still some way off their top end target of 260 million subscribers, it is worth noting that they added 14.4 million subscribers in their last quarter, and if they can keep that kind of momentum up, then they should manage to easily reach that huge goal.
