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Disney is raising the price of Disney Plus subscriptions again as part of its mission to squeeze profits from its streaming service.
The new prices will go into effect on October 21st. The standalone plan with ads will increase by $2 to $11.99 per month, while the no-ads Disney Plus Premium plan will increase by $3 to $18.99 per month (with the annual subscription going up by $30 to $189.99 per year). Various bundles are getting price increases, too, and you can see all of the price hikes in a Disney Plus support page.
After launching Disney Plus in 2019 for $6.99 per month, these price hikes are now becoming a seasonal trend for Disney. The company raised the price of its streaming services in December 2022, October 2023, and October 2024, with its streaming business finally becoming profitable for the first time last year.
While the latest increases are in line with Disney’s past behavior, the timing isn’t ideal given the PR crisis that followed Disney temporarily pulling Jimmy Kimmel Live! off ABC. Disney announced that the late-night talk show was being restored after having “thoughtful conversations” with Kimmel, just six days after indefinitely suspending production over the hosts comments about the assassination of Charlie Kirk. The decision to pull the show sparked public outrage and calls to boycott subscriptions for Disney’s streaming services.
Journalist Marisa Kabas reported on Monday that Disney’s rush to restore Kimmel’s show may have been motivated by the planned Disney Plus price increases. Citing an unnamed Disney source, Kabas said that “with subscriptions hemorrhaging since last week, they couldn’t risk losing more users with this announcement.”