Hulu raises subscription prices
Disney reported a total of 46.2 million Hulu subscribers at the end of its third quarter in August
Hulu raised prices for its ad-supported and ad-free subscription tiers on Monday by $1 and $2 per month, respectively.
Under the planned hike that was disclosed in August, ad-supported Hulu will now cost $7.99 per month ($79.99 per year) instead of $6.99 per month. Meanwhile, Hulu without ads will cost $14.99 per month, up from $12.99 per month. The prices of Hulu's bundles with Disney+ and ESPN+ will remain unchanged.
The latest pricing change comes after Disney raised the price of ESPN+ to $9.99 per month, or $99.99 per year, on Aug. 23. At the time, Disney said that the ESPN+ hike would not affect the price of its bundle with Hulu and Disney+ nor the $74.99 cost for Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view events.
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The move comes ahead of the highly anticipated rollout of Disney+'s ad-supported tier on Dec. 8. The ad-supported Disney+ tier will cost $7.99 per month, while ad-free Disney+ will increase to $10.99 per month from $7.99. At that time, bundle and Hulu and Live TV pricing will be as follows:
Bundle plans
- Disney+ and Hulu bundle with ads: $9.99 per month
- Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ with ads: $12.99 per month
- Disney+ (no ads), Hulu and ESPN+ (with ads): $14.99 per month (Existing subscribers only)
- Disney+ and Hulu (no ads) and ESPN+ (with ads): $19.99 per month
Hulu and Live TV plans
- Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ with ads: $69.99 per month
- Disney+ (no ads), Hulu and ESPN+ (with ads): $74.99 per month
- Disney+ and Hulu (no ads) and ESPN+ (with ads): $82.99 per month
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As of the end of its third quarter in August, Disney reported a total of 221 million total subscriptions across its three streaming offerings. Hulu and ESPN+ account for 46.2 million and 22.8 million subscribers, respectively, while Disney+ makes up the remaining 152.1 million.
In this photo illustration, a Hulu logo is seen on a smartphone screen with a Hulu website in the background. (Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) | Getty Images
The company continues to expect that Disney+ will become profitable in 2024. However, Disney now anticipates that its total subscribers will fall to 215 million to 245 million by the end of fiscal 2024, compared with previous guidance of 230 million to 260 million.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIS | THE WALT DISNEY CO. | 115.07 | +5.94 | +5.44% |
Last month, Disney CEO Bob Chapek has floated the possibility of combining all three services into one app. However, that move would require Disney to purchase Comcast's 33% minority stake in Hulu.