Disney Plus subscribers will once again be paying more for the video streaming service, with the U.S. the first to face the price hike.
Streaming increasingly seems to have become the new cash cow: where customers were once enticed with attractive prices, subscription costs are now steadily climbing. This trend is visible across the entire streaming landscape, making watching and listening an increasingly expensive hobby. How long it will take before subscribers start critically reassessing their subscriptions remains to be seen. For now, the major players in the streaming industry continue to get away with it.
And so, video streamer Disney Plus is raising its prices yet again (following earlier hikes in 2023 and 2024, suggesting this may become an annual ritual). In the U.S., subscribers will now pay $12 per month (up from $10) for the cheapest plan, and a hefty $19 per month (up from $16) for the premium plan. Hulu and ESPN Select—both also under the Disney umbrella—will see their prices increase as well.
The price hike takes effect this month in the U.S. For the rest of the world, no specific details have been announced yet. Still, rising costs seem inevitable. Perhaps it’s a good time to critically review which streaming subscriptions you’re paying for—and which ones are actually worth keeping.