Disney+ and Hulu add to the growing trend of streaming inflation

Streaming is getting more expensive again. Disney is the latest media giant to raise prices for its streaming services, adding to a growing pattern across the industry. The increases come roughly a year after Disney’s last major streaming price hike.

Disney is raising the price of its ad-free Disney+ and Hulu bundle to $21.99 a month, up from $19.99, whereas the ad-free standalone plans are each rising to $21.49 per month, up from $18.99. The company is also increasing the price of its standalone ad-supported Disney+ and Hulu plans to $12.49 a month.

The new prices are reflected on Disney+’s support page. Bloomberg was the first to report the changes.

Disney+ and Hulu are hardly alone. Streaming companies have spent the past several years steadily increasing prices. Peacock and Apple TV also raised prices in August, while Netflix increased prices earlier this year.

When Disney+ launched in 2019, its basic monthly subscription cost $6.99. Since then, the service has gradually moved further away from that intro price as Disney has tried to turn streaming into a profitable part of its entertainment business.

At the same time, Disney appears to be exploring new ways to expand its streaming business beyond simply raising subscription prices.

The company has reportedly explored the possibility of introducing a free tier for Disney+. This could put the company in more direct competition with platforms such as YouTube and Tubi, which have been capturing a growing share of consumers’ viewing time.

Earlier this month, Disney+ also introduced “Playlists,” a new feature designed to help users discover and continuously watch curated selections of content.

The company is making changes on the technology side as well. Disney recently hired Karandeep Anand as its first-ever chief technology officer. Anand is the former CEO of Character.AI, a company Disney previously accused of infringing on its intellectual property.

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Lauren Forristal

Lauren covers media, streaming, apps and platforms at TechCrunch.

You can contact or verify outreach from Lauren by emailing laurenf.techcrunch@gmail.com or via encrypted message at laurenforris22.25 on Signal.

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