Disney is reportedly raising streaming prices again, and Disney fans are torching the company over it online.
Fourth year in a row.
Some context.
The reported numbers, with increases up to 13 percent and changes possibly landing this week:
- Disney+ Premium: $18.99 to $21.49
- Hulu Premium: up to $21.49
- Disney+ and Hulu Bundle Premium: up $2 to $21.99
Ad-supported plans are expected to climb too. No figures given for those.
Call it $30 more a year on Disney+ Premium.
The Threads Got Ugly Fast
“Goodbye streaming services!” wrote user ukichan4real, tagging Disney, Hulu, Paramount+, and HBO Max in one shot. “I can no longer afford you and I'm tired of the bullshit. All these companies tricked us.”
User kylearmitage55 opened with an expletive aimed straight at Disney+, pointed out this is the fourth straight annual increase, and closed with “Greed has no limits.”
A lot of people said they were already out the door.
“I've cancelled my Disney+ / Hulu / ESPN package,” wrote user kaf1958. “Not at all worth the $$$, especially in the current economy.”
“I cancelled my Disney + last month and literally bought all the avengers movies,” wrote user bebe.az520. “It will take me forever to get through all that. Lol but it's all mine.”
Somebody tried to turn it into a movement.
“Can we all collectively quit on like October 1st or something?” wrote user ashtonw638.
And then the sentence that should genuinely worry a streaming executive:
“It's sad that it's cheaper to get cable TV than streaming services,” wrote user djuiliano. “It's pure greed.”
Quick Correction, Because This Is Spreading
A bunch of posts claim Disney is jamming ads into the Premium tier.
Somebody in the replies shut that down.
“They aren't adding ads to premium, and you can just quietly cancel,” wrote user evilhands.
That checks out. Reporting describes Premium as the ad-free tier, with the cheaper ad-supported plans sitting separately and also going up.
So Premium costs more and stays ad-free. Plenty to be mad about without the extra part.
Now, the Part Nobody in Those Threads Caught
Look at the three prices again.
Disney+ Premium by itself, $21.49. Hulu Premium by itself, $21.49. Both of them together, $21.99.
Fifty cents.
That is not sloppy pricing. Buying one service alone becomes almost irrational, so Disney quietly herds everybody onto the bundle. And bundle customers cancel way less often, because pulling the plug means losing two services instead of one.
Everybody is screaming about $2.50. The fifty cents is where the actual strategy lives.
Why Disney Keeps Doing This
One commenter said the quiet part.
“Total U.S. streaming subscriptions grows every year, and price is still not adversely affecting demand,” wrote user scottporch.
Every single time. The rage threads blow up, the cancellation posts rack up likes, and subscriber numbers keep going up anyway. Companies raise prices because the data keeps telling them to.
What has changed is how people use these things. Subscribe, binge the one show, cancel, come back in eight months. Rotating is just normal now.
Actually Useful Tip, Buried in the Anger
One comment in all that mess is worth money.
“I pay $4.99 a month for a year and I redo it every year by waiting for Black Friday,” wrote user elizabethluvinmykids77. “All the streaming services get super cheap.”
Disney runs heavy promotions around Black Friday every year. Time your signup right and you pay a sliver of list price.
Also, someone flagged that certain AT&T wireless plans include Disney+ at no extra cost. Check yours before handing over $21.49.
For Perspective
Disney+ launched at $6.99 a month in 2019.
At $21.49 it is creeping toward Netflix's $26.99 ad-free 4K tier. Still cheaper. Not cheaper like it used to be.
That cheap price was the entire reason adding Disney+ felt like nothing. Above $20, the math changes.
“What's even on Disney plus,” wrote user nasirecoo, which is the whole problem in four words.
Disney has not officially confirmed the pricing. Go look at your plan before it renews itself.
Sources: Threads discussions, and reporting on Disney's expected Disney+ and Hulu price increases.
