When Disney launched its streaming service Disney+ for $6.99 a month in 2019, it was cheaper than many other services out there. Starting in October, it will be 172% more expensive than it was six years ago.
Back then, Netflix had just raised its price to $8.99 per month for its basic service. HBO’s streaming service, then called HBO Now, cost $14.99. Apple TV+, which also launched in 2019, cost $4.99 but also had a tiny content library consisting of about eight originals. Hulu, which is owned by Disney and unlike the others had an ad-supported tier at the time, had recently lowered its ad tier to $5.99 per month while its ad-free tier was $11.99.
In the intervening years, these streaming services repeatedly raised their prices and ad-supported tiers became commonplace.
With Disney’s latest price hike — its fourth in four years — slated to go into effect in October, Disney+ and Hulu are now some of the most expensive streaming services. Disney raised the prices of its Disney+ and Hulu bundles as well, which cost only $1 more than a single subscription. On the company’s latest earnings call, it announced it would merge Disney+ and Hulu into a single app next year.