Some big changes are coming to Disney’s streaming services as ad-free Disney+ and Hulu prices are getting hiked. At the same time, Disney says that it wants to start “actively exploring” how it can better police password sharing just as Netflix is now doing. The company might feel some pressure since the number of global Disney+ subscribers declined for just the second time during the second quarter to 157.8 million, a 4 million decline from the first quarter figure.
Disney is keeping the ad-supported versions of Disney+ and Hulu priced at $7.99 per month. The price for Disney+ ad-free will rise to $13.99 per month from $10.99 per month, a 27,3% rise. The price for ad-free Hulu is rising 20% from $14.99 to $17.99 per month. However, an ad-free Disney+/Hulu bundle will cost $19.99 per month, just $2 per month more than ad-free Hulu. This bundle will be available in the U.S. starting on September 6th.
Meanwhile, the Hulu+ Live TV offerings will see a price hike of $7 a month taking the ad-supported plan to $76.99, a 10% increase. The ad-free Live TV plan will be $89.99 following the price hike, an 8.4% increase. And ESPN+ pricing is going up 10% or $1 to $10.99 per month.
As for ways to combat password sharing, the other day during Disney’s quarterly conference call, CEO Bob Iger said, “We are actively exploring ways to address account sharing and the best options for paying subscribers to share their accounts with friends and family. Later this year, we will begin to update our subscriber agreements with additional terms and our sharing policies. And we will roll out tactics to drive monetization sometime in 2024.”
Iger added, “We already have the technical capability to monitor much of this, and I’m not gonna give you a specific number except to say it’s significant. We certainly have established this as a real priority, and we actually think that there’s an opportunity here to help us grow our business.”
If Iger is right about the timing, those Disney+ users viewing the platform thanks to a shared password have at least until the end of this year to continue this behavior.