As announced in August, Disney is raising prices on all its streaming services on October 12. That means Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ are about to get more expensive.
But even in this new era of cord cutting, in which streamers charge more for less, it’s still possible to defray the costs. Below, we’ll walk through the details on Disney’s price hikes, along with some ways to minimize the impact on your TV bill.
Don’t miss TechHive’s picks for the best live TV streaming services.
What are Disney+ and Hulu’s latest price hikes?
Here’s a full list of all the Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ price hikes taking effect on October 12, 2023:
Disney+:
- With ads: Still $8 per month
- No ads: $14 per month or $140 per year (was $11 per month or $110 per year)
Hulu:
- With ads: Still $8 per month or $80 per year
- No ads: $18 per month (was $15 per month)
ESPN+:
- $11 per month (was $10 per month)
Disney bundles:
- Disney+ and Hulu Duo (with ads): Still $10 per month
- Disney+ and Hulu Duo (no ads): New option at $20 per month
- Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ Trio (with ads): $15 per month (was $13 per month)
- Disney+ (no ads), Hulu (no ads), and ESPN+ Trio: $25 per month (was $20 per month)
- Legacy Disney+ (no ads), Hulu (with ads), and ESPN+: $19 per month (was $15 per month)
Hulu + Live TV:
- With Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ Trio (all with ads): $77 per month (was $70 per month)
- With Disney+ (no ads), Hulu (no ads), and ESPN+: $90 per month (was $83 per month)
For better or worse, that’s a lot of ways to slice and dice Disney’s streaming services. Now, let’s consider some ways to keep those costs down.
Drop ESPN+
At one point, paying for the full Disney bundle was cheaper than subscribing to any two Disney streaming services separately, so you might be paying for all three even if you seldom watch ESPN+. It’s time to rethink that idea as prices go up.
Say you’re getting the ad-free Disney bundle at $20 per month. That price will increase to $25 per month on October 12, but if you switch to the new ad-free bundle of just Disney+ and Hulu, you’ll be back to paying $20 per month again.
Likewise, full Disney bundle with ads will jump to $15 per month on October 12. Switching to just Disney+ and Hulu with ads brings the price down to $10 per month.
Keep in mind that ESPN+ barely overlaps with the cable channel anyway, so you might not miss much without it. Besides, you can always add it back for a month at a time to watch a particular sporting event.
One complication: If you’re currently paying for the full Disney bundle through Hulu’s billing system, downgrading directly to the Duo bundle won’t be an option. You’ll need to cancel service through Hulu, then sign up again through Disney’s billing system instead. Yeesh.
Switch to annual billing
Until October 12, the annual price for ad-free Disney+ is $110. Subscribing before then will save you $30 over the new price of $140 per year. Monthly subscribers whose billing cycles come due after October 12 might even consider signing up with a secondary or masked email address to lock in the extra savings. It’s not a permanent reprieve from price hikes, but nothing is.
Bundle with Verizon
If you’re a Verizon Wireless customer, your plan may offer the Disney bundle at a reduced cost, or possibly even for free.
With the carrier’s latest “MyPlan” unlimited offerings, you can get the legacy Disney bundle (including ad-free Disney+, Hulu with ads, and ESPN+) for $10 per month. That’s a savings of $8 per month after the price hikes kick in.
Verizon’s legacy 5G Get More and 5G Play More plans are even better, giving you that same Disney bundle at no extra charge. (That’s all the more reason to think twice about changing plans when you upgrade to a new phone.)
Verizon customers can redeem these offers through the Service & Perks page on the carrier’s website.
Bundle with Hulu + Live TV
Hulu’s live TV streaming service is also getting more expensive on October 12, but because it includes the full Disney bundle, it may save you money over other live TV streaming services.
YouTube TV, for instance, costs $73 per month, and if you’re paying separately for the Disney bundle (at $15 per month), your total bill will be $88 per month. With Hulu + Live TV, you’ll pay $77 per month for a similar lineup of cable channels, along with Disney+, ESPN+ Hulu’s on-demand catalog. (Hulu + Live TV’s current promo price of $50 per month for three months defrays the cost even further.)
Granted, you may prefer YouTube TV or other live TV services for different reasons, but Hulu’s bundle wins on value for those who are planning to pay for the Disney bundle either way.
Share a password
Disney has indicated that it will begin cracking down on password sharing next year, and has already updated its terms of service in Canada to make clear that such behavior isn’t allowed.
But for now, password sharing isn’t expressly forbidden anywhere else. Enjoy the freedom while it lasts, and keep in mind that any countermeasures that do arise will probably be toothless.
Take some time off
It’s easy to get exasperated about streaming price hikes, but consider this: If you abstain from Disney+’s ad-free plan for three months out of the year, it will more than offset the company’s gains from higher prices. If history’s any indication, cancelling now may even open you up to better deals in the future.
Being able to come and go is one of the best things about streaming, and it’s your biggest bargaining chip against companies that expect to raise revenues with the flip of a switch.
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