Did Disney Go Too Far This Time?
You can't say you didn't see this coming. Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) is increasing prices for its premium streaming services next month. The flagship Disney+ platform with ads will set you back $11.99 a month on Oct. 21, up from $9.99 today. If you want the content without the marketing interruptions, Disney+ Premium's monthly rate is climbing from $15.99 to $18.99. Prices are also going up for many -- but notably not all -- of the bundles that pair up Disney+ with Hulu and ESPN.
It may seem like just a couple of dollars a month, but it's a 20% jump for the ad-supported version of the service and a 19% boost for the higher-priced option without the ad breaks. More importantly, this will be the fourth year in a row that the media giant rolls out higher prices in the final calendar quarter of the year.
Disney+ launched just six years ago at a price point of $6.99 a month when it was available only as an ad-free platform. Some groups including Disney credit card holders, D23 members, and theme park pass holders were able to lock in multiyear deals for as little as $4.99 a month. The price for that Disney+ Premium service today has roughly tripled. It adds up, even before it started to ad up.
Source Fool.com
