By: Nick Gambino
Disney Plus is an example of a new streamer that was successful right out the gate. This is due in large part to the vast back catalog of Disney titles offered on the service. It also doesn’t hurt that they were able to offer a subscription at a low price of $6.99.
Now the Mickey Mouse streamer is raising its price to a whopping $7.99 a month or $79.99 a year on March 26, 2021. That’s still really cheap considering the fact that Netflix charges upward of $17.99 for their premium plan.
The increase also applies to the Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus bundle which will see it rising from $12.99 a month to $13.99.
Disney Plus has a wealth of titles spanning the Star Wars, Marvel and Disney universe, not to mention National Geographic and more. Unfettered access to those movies and shows is certainly worth a measly $8 a month. In fact, they could justify breaking $10 and people would still pay.
The price hike is justified because the streamer isn’t simply offering old titles from a back catalog, though that alone would justify it. They are also creating a ton of original movies and shows, including the hit Star Wars show The Mandalorian.
This original content shows no signs of stopping either as Disney just announced a huge slate of originals across their wide breadth of brands, including Marvel, Disney Animation, Pixar, and, yes, Star Wars.
$1 might seem like nothing to an individual subscriber but consider the fact that they have close to 87 million paid subscribers. That’s an instant $87 million more they’ll see every month with no extra effort on their part. The company expects to see somewhere between 230 million and 260 million paid subscribers by the end of 2024. This extra $1 adds up when you see how many are paying each month.
“Needless to say, Disney Plus has exceeded our wildest expectations,” Bob Chapek, Disney CEO, said at their investor day event. “This success has bolstered our confidence in our continued acceleration toward a DTC-first [direct-to-consumer] business model.”
I have no issue paying an extra $1 a month if it means I have access to some of my favorite movies and shows from the Disney umbrella.
