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Disney is increasing subscription prices for Disney Plus and Hulu starting Wednesday, with premium ad-free plans rising to $21.49 monthly and the combined bundle reaching $22. Ad-supported plans see a smaller increase to $12.49, while the top-tier bundle including ESPN Unlimited stays at $45.
Disney is increasing prices across its Disney+ and Hulu streaming plans, with the ad-free bundle rising from $19.99 to $21.99 a month and stand-alone ad-free plans climbing to $21.49. Ad-supported stand-alone plans will also rise, to $12.49 a month, according to Disney's support page as first reported by Bloomberg. The changes come about a year after Disney's previous major streaming price increase.
Disney has increased prices across several streaming tiers, per Bloomberg. Ad-free Disney+ rises 13% to $21.50 monthly, the combined ad-free Disney+/Hulu bundle climbs $2 to $22, and ad-supported Disney+ and Hulu each move to $12.50; the ad-supported bundle stays at $13. The changes took effect immediately, with new subscribers seeing them on their next bill.
Bloomberg reports Disney plans to raise subscription prices across Disney Plus and Hulu, citing people familiar with the matter. Ad-free Disney Plus Premium and ad-free Hulu would rise from $18.99 to $21.49 per month, while ad-supported standalone plans increase by 50 cents to $12.49. The ad-supported Disney Plus-Hulu bundle would stay at $12.99, though the ad-free bundle rises from $19.99 to $21.99, with subscribers possibly notified as soon as September 23.
Disney has raised prices on most Disney+ and Hulu subscription tiers effective immediately. Ad-free Disney+ and Hulu Premium plans jump from $18.99 to $21.49 monthly, while ad-supported plans increase by 50 cents to $12.49. The combined Disney+/Hulu Premium bundle is expected to rise to $21.99, though it still displayed the old $19.99 price at publication.
Disney Plus revised its subscriber agreement in Europe, sparking confusion that ads would now appear across all its plans globally. In reality, ad-free Standard and Premium subscribers in Europe and the US see no change to their viewing experience under the updated terms.
Disney+ amended its Subscriber Agreement in January 2025 to allow advertisements to appear even on plans marketed as "no ads" or "ad-free." Section 2(k) of the new agreement carves out exceptions where ads can run due to streaming rights restrictions, live events, or other limitations, despite the premium tier's original all-ad-free marketing.
ESPN, set to air its first Super Bowl in 2027, has begun planning ways to use Disney's broad portfolio of characters and franchises to draw in a wider television audience. Preparations reportedly started almost immediately after the conclusion of the 2026 Super Bowl, with executives exploring cross-promotional tie-ins tied to Disney's intellectual property.
Disney has hired Karandeep Anand, who recently led Character.AI, to serve as the company's first chief technology officer, reporting directly to CEO Josh D'Amaro. Anand will oversee enterprise technology and Disney's data and AI platforms, and is bringing several former Character.AI engineers with him. Disney is also promoting Adam Smith to a new Chairman of Direct-to-Consumer role for Disney Entertainment.
Disney has appointed Karandeep Anand, the former CEO of Character.AI, as its first-ever chief technology officer. The move is notable because Disney had sent Character.AI a cease-and-desist letter in September 2025 accusing the startup of hosting unauthorized versions of its copyrighted characters. New Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro made the hire; Anand previously worked at Facebook and Microsoft before joining Character.AI as a board adviser and later CEO.
The new Star Wars film 'The Mandalorian and Grogu' landed as the second most-streamed movie across all services during its opening week on streaming. The ranking reflects strong viewer demand shortly after the film became available to stream.
Disney announced it has hired Karandeep Anand, former CEO of Character.AI, to fill a newly created role as senior executive vice president and chief technology officer, effective October 2. Anand will report directly to CEO Josh D'Amaro and oversee enterprise technology, infrastructure, data, AI platforms, product and engineering across the company.