Summary
- Disney angered customers by removing and then reinstating Kimmel, hurting goodwill.
- Disney chose this week to raise Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ prices starting Oct 21
- Many subscribers vowed cancellations; price hikes risk intensifying that consumer revolt.
In case you missed it, Disney has been in some hot water over the past few days, following what seemed to be a politically-motivated removal of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel from the network following some not-so-veiled threats from officials in the US government. Consumer fury over the action was swift, with thousands of social media users announcing that they had canceled Disney cruises, theme park visits, and Disney+ subscriptions (per Yahoo) in response to the news. And though CEO Bob Iger has made a statement regarding last week’s move and Jimmy Kimmel has since been reinstated (PBS), it seems many are still not happy with how Disney conducted itself in this situation, and in my opinion, it will take a lot for the company to gain back the goodwill they lost with their actions.
Which is why it seems a little nuts for Disney to choose today to announce brand new price hikes for Disney+, Hulu and ESPN.
Disney subscription prices are going up
New prices will take effect October 21
Disney has confirmed that almost every streaming service under its banner, including not just Disney+ but Hulu, ESPN+, as well as all bundled services will all be increasing in price, effective October 21. Here’s a quick rundown of what users can expect to pay beginning next month:
- Disney+ with ads will increase by $2 to $11.99 per month
- Disney+ Premium will increase by $3 to $18.99 per month (up $30 to $189.99 per year for annual subscribers)
- Hulu with ads will increase by $2 to $11.99 per month
- ESPN Select will increase by $1 to $12.99 per month (up $10 to $129.99 per year for annual subscribers)
- Disney+ and Hulu bundle with ads will increase by $2 to $12.99 per month
- Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN Select bundle with ads will increase by $3 to $19.99 per month
- Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN Select ad-free bundle will increase by $3 to $29.99 per month
- Disney+ Premium, Hulu and ESPN Select bundle for legacy subscribers will increase by $3 to $24.99 per month.
- Disney+, Hulu and HBO Max bundle with ads increases by $3 to $19.99 per month
- Disney+, Hulu and HBO Max ad-free bundle increases $3 to $32.99 per month without ads.
The only subscriptions that are not subject to price hikes are the ad-free Hulu Premium, ad-free Disney+ and Hulu Premium bundle and Disney+, Hulu and ESPN Unlimited bundles.
How to cancel Disney+
The process is simple
If you are still a Disney+ subscriber and are looking to avoid these price hikes, you’ll need to cancel your subscription before October 21. If you have a standalone service, or a bundle with Hulu, HBO, or ESPN, and are billed directly through Disney you can cancel by visiting the official cancellation page via your web browser at disneyplus.com/account/cancel-subscription. If you are billed through a third-party, like Roku or Amazon, you will need to visit your subscription management page on that service’s website, and cancel through there.
