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In case you needed another reason to get rid of Disney+.
Credit: Getty
While mired in controversy from all sides, the Walt Disney Company has unveiled price hikes for Disney+ and its other streaming services today.
As of October 21, Disney+ will cost up to 20 percent more, depending on the plan you have. Disney+ with ads is increasing from $10 to $12 per month, while the ad-free plan is going from $16 to $19 per month. The annual, ad-free plan will go from $160 to $190.
Acquisitions have enabled Disney to own multiple streaming services, so it’s not just Disney+ subscribers who will be impacted. Subscriptions for Hulu and ESPN Select will also increase, as will all Hulu + Live TV plans and bundles of Disney’s three subscription-based streaming services.
And anyone buying Disney+ and Hulu bundled with Warner Bros. Discovery’s HBO Max will also have to pay (up to 17.6 percent) more as of October 21.
Mouse House in the dog house
Unfortunately, for millions of cord-cutters, an increase in streaming service prices isn’t surprising. Disney+ most recently raised prices in October 2024. It also raised prices in October 2023 and December 2022. (Disney+ debuted in November 2019, and Disney's overall streaming business became profitable in Q3 2024).
Disney’s timing here is similar to its previous price hikes: The announcement is made in September, with the new prices taking effect in October. However, September 2024 was much different from September 2025, which will be remembered as a time when Disney was embroiled in boycotts from streaming subscribers, broadcast viewers, free speech activists, celebrities, liberals, and conservatives.
On September 17, Disney-owned ABC made the landmark announcement that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would “be pre-empted indefinitely.” The announcement followed comments that Kimmel made on a September 15 show about the murder of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk. His comments drew the ire of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr, and ABC affiliate owners Nexstar and Sinclair subsequently pulled the show from their stations.
It didn’t take long for the public to turn against Disney. Hundreds of people protested outside Disney Studios in Burbank, California. Calls to cancel Disney+ flooded social media, and, per Yipit data cited by The New York Times today, this had a greater impact on subscriber churn than other streaming boycotts.
With Kimmel off the air, prominent figures publicly denounced Disney’s decision as an act against free speech. Hundreds of celebrities, including actors who have long worked with Disney, signed an open letter against the act. Former and current employees questioned Disney’s leadership. Sarah McLachlan refused to perform at the premiere of a Disney-owned documentary about the Lilith Fair music festival she started; other performers joined her boycott. Republican leaders said that Carr overstepped by pressuring Disney to take action against Kimmel, while Democrats also voiced disapproval.
Disney doesn't have backing from Carr, who, since last week, has denied threatening ABC's broadcasting licenses over Kimmel's statements. This week, he aimed to direct all blame for Kimmel being pulled on Disney, saying, "Disney on its own made the business decision not to have him air ..."
Horrendous timing
On Monday, Disney announced that Kimmel would return to air tonight, seemingly picking free speech—and the tens of millions of dollars in ad revenue tied to the 22-year-old late-night show—over censorship. However, on the same day that Kimmel is set to return, Disney announced that it wants more money. Price hikes are almost always unpopular, but unveiling them immediately after offending subscribers, employees, politicians, and celebrities is tone-deaf and horribly timed.
And it’s not like bringing Kimmel back marks the end of this saga. The Times reported today that approximately one-fourth of ABC stations won’t air the show tonight.
Disney may think a business-as-usual approach will help things blow over. Or that bringing Jimmy Kimmel Live! back will pacify those it has outraged. But the survival of free speech is too important an issue to simply blow over. The price hikes were likely planned before the Kimmel controversy, but a firestorm this large should be top-of-mind for any Disney-related announcements this week, especially negative ones.
This past week has shown that Disney’s priorities may not align with those of many of its customers. The conglomerate has tested the limits of what Americans consider acceptable. With Disney’s higher streaming prices just a few weeks away, the ball is in subscribers' courts now.
Credit: Getty
While mired in controversy from all sides, the Walt Disney Company has unveiled price hikes for Disney+ and its other streaming services today.
As of October 21, Disney+ will cost up to 20 percent more, depending on the plan you have. Disney+ with ads is increasing from $10 to $12 per month, while the ad-free plan is going from $16 to $19 per month. The annual, ad-free plan will go from $160 to $190.
Acquisitions have enabled Disney to own multiple streaming services, so it’s not just Disney+ subscribers who will be impacted. Subscriptions for Hulu and ESPN Select will also increase, as will all Hulu + Live TV plans and bundles of Disney’s three subscription-based streaming services.
And anyone buying Disney+ and Hulu bundled with Warner Bros. Discovery’s HBO Max will also have to pay (up to 17.6 percent) more as of October 21.
Mouse House in the dog house
Unfortunately, for millions of cord-cutters, an increase in streaming service prices isn’t surprising. Disney+ most recently raised prices in October 2024. It also raised prices in October 2023 and December 2022. (Disney+ debuted in November 2019, and Disney's overall streaming business became profitable in Q3 2024).
Disney’s timing here is similar to its previous price hikes: The announcement is made in September, with the new prices taking effect in October. However, September 2024 was much different from September 2025, which will be remembered as a time when Disney was embroiled in boycotts from streaming subscribers, broadcast viewers, free speech activists, celebrities, liberals, and conservatives.
On September 17, Disney-owned ABC made the landmark announcement that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would “be pre-empted indefinitely.” The announcement followed comments that Kimmel made on a September 15 show about the murder of right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk. His comments drew the ire of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr, and ABC affiliate owners Nexstar and Sinclair subsequently pulled the show from their stations.
It didn’t take long for the public to turn against Disney. Hundreds of people protested outside Disney Studios in Burbank, California. Calls to cancel Disney+ flooded social media, and, per Yipit data cited by The New York Times today, this had a greater impact on subscriber churn than other streaming boycotts.
With Kimmel off the air, prominent figures publicly denounced Disney’s decision as an act against free speech. Hundreds of celebrities, including actors who have long worked with Disney, signed an open letter against the act. Former and current employees questioned Disney’s leadership. Sarah McLachlan refused to perform at the premiere of a Disney-owned documentary about the Lilith Fair music festival she started; other performers joined her boycott. Republican leaders said that Carr overstepped by pressuring Disney to take action against Kimmel, while Democrats also voiced disapproval.
Disney doesn't have backing from Carr, who, since last week, has denied threatening ABC's broadcasting licenses over Kimmel's statements. This week, he aimed to direct all blame for Kimmel being pulled on Disney, saying, "Disney on its own made the business decision not to have him air ..."
Horrendous timing
On Monday, Disney announced that Kimmel would return to air tonight, seemingly picking free speech—and the tens of millions of dollars in ad revenue tied to the 22-year-old late-night show—over censorship. However, on the same day that Kimmel is set to return, Disney announced that it wants more money. Price hikes are almost always unpopular, but unveiling them immediately after offending subscribers, employees, politicians, and celebrities is tone-deaf and horribly timed.
And it’s not like bringing Kimmel back marks the end of this saga. The Times reported today that approximately one-fourth of ABC stations won’t air the show tonight.
Disney may think a business-as-usual approach will help things blow over. Or that bringing Jimmy Kimmel Live! back will pacify those it has outraged. But the survival of free speech is too important an issue to simply blow over. The price hikes were likely planned before the Kimmel controversy, but a firestorm this large should be top-of-mind for any Disney-related announcements this week, especially negative ones.
This past week has shown that Disney’s priorities may not align with those of many of its customers. The conglomerate has tested the limits of what Americans consider acceptable. With Disney’s higher streaming prices just a few weeks away, the ball is in subscribers' courts now.
