On December 8th, Disney+ & Hulu will introduce the much-anticipated ad-supported subscription offerings and a new Disney Bundle Duo plan (Disney+ with ads and Hulu with Ads for $9.99) in the U.S., delivering more choice to consumers than ever before.
With the launch, a new and comprehensive slate of subscription plans will be made available across Disney+ and the Disney Bundle, giving viewers ultimate flexibility in choosing an option that suits their needs.
Disney Plus added over 9 million subscribers in the US in the last several months, and many people in the US are opting for its bundle that includes Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus. In its earnings report on Tuesday, Disney also revealed that it added 12.1 million Disney Plus subscribers globally, making for 164 million in total, as well as 14.6 million subscribers across all its services.
New plans for actual and new subscribers
Christine McCarthy, the chief financial officer at Disney, said during an earnings call that 40 percent of Disney Plus subscribers have the bundle with Hulu and ESPN Plus, which its pricing makes it increasingly hard to pass up. It provides access to all services for $14.99 per month for the ad-supported versions of Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus or $19.99 per month for Disney Plus and Hulu without ads (and ESPN Plus with ads).
The new, U.S. pricing for Disney’s direct-to-consumer streaming services as of Dec. 8, 2022 will be as follows:
Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ Standalone Plans
Disney+ Basic (With Ads)
$7.99/month
Disney+ Premium (No Ads)
$10.99/month….$109.99 annual
Hulu Basic (With Ads)
$7.99/month…. $79.99 annual
Hulu Premium (No Ads)
$14.99/month
ESPN+ With Ads
$9.99/month…. $99.99 annual
Disney Bundle Plans
Disney Bundle Basic (With Ads): Disney+, Hulu
$9.99/month
Basic (With Ads): Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+
$12.99/month
Legacy*: Disney+ (No Ads), Hulu (With Ads), ESPN+ (With Ads)
$14.99/month
Premium: Disney+ (No Ads), Hulu (No Ads), ESPN+ (With Ads)
$19.99/month
*Existing subscribers only
Disney Plus economic results
Although all of Disney’s services are adding subscribers, the company lost $1.5 billion in direct-to-consumer revenue. The company attributes this to a lack of Premier Access releases, which let subscribers watch cinematic releases directly from Disney Plus. It also says it dealt with an “increase in programming and production costs” as the company added more content to the service.
Disney remains pretty optimistic that its streaming services will continue to grow. On December 8th, Disney Plus is introducing its new, cheaper ad-supported tier for $7.99 per month that CEO Bob Chapek says the company has “secured more than 100 advertisers” for so far.