You’ll soon get access to both Disney+ and ESPN+ via a Hulu live TV bundle at no extra cost. At the same time, Disney is raising Hulu live TV bundle pricing by $5, which is still cheaper than paying $15/month when subscribing to the two services separately.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Hulu is raising subscription prices for its live TV packages by $5
- Disney+ and ESPN+ are now available at no extra cost via Hulu
- The changes are taking efect next month on December 21
- Hulu’s last price hike was approximately a year ago
Disney+ and ESPN+ are now available via Hulu live TV
Both ad-free and ad-supported Hulu live TV packages will soon include Disney+ at no additional cost. Now, Disney+ normally costs $8/month while ESPN+ is priced at $7/month. In other words, folks who aren’t subscribed to Hulu will be spending a total of $15/month to enjoy the two services. But Hulu is jacking up prices again so you’ll be soon paying $5 more for a Hulu live TV bundle, but at least it’ll include Disney+ and ESPN+ at no extra cost. Read: How to change the streaming quality in Apple’s TV app
The new prices apply to both new and existing subscribers.
- The ad-free version of Hulu + Live TV is rising the asking price to $76
- The ad-supported Hulu live TV package will cost $70/month
- The $5/month increase adds Disney+ and ESPN+ to the mix
Bloomberg says the new bundle offering is going live on Tuesday, December 21.
Tell me more about Hulu live TV bundles
In addition to on-demand streaming on Hulu, the company has live TV packages in its streaming arsenal.
Available with or without ads, these packages bring live programming from about 70 broadcast and cable brands. Cable channels owned by Disney and NBCUniversal, broadcast networks like ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and The CW, as well as channels like HBO, Cinemax and Showtime are all available to Hulu’s live TV subscribers as optional add-ons.
Disney’s three-pronged approach to streaming
Disney of course has a deep and wide content library that spans decades.
That said, the true power and appeal of Disney+ lie in its unmatched offering that mixes its existing content library with the company’s programs built around globally famous franchises that it has acquired over the years. In the US, for instance, Disney+ offers classic kids movies from the Walt Disney Animation Studios and shows based on the Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar and National Geographic brands and content that the company owns.
Aside from Disney+, the Mickey Mouse House offers another direct-to-consumer product, ESPN+, which offers sports content. So two things so far. Firstly, you have a rich offering of entertainment content on the family-focused Disney+ service. Secondarily, there’s the sports-focused ESPN. And finally, let’s not forget about Hulu.
Aside from its own original programming, Hulu—co-owned by Disney— also offers a library of licensed movies and shows licensed from third-party distributors and networks such as ABC, NBC or FX. While Disney+ is slowly but surely expanding internationally, Hulu plus has remained since its inception a US-only service.
Why Disney+ growth is slowing
Initially, Disney+ enjoyed runaway success. The service gained a ridiculous number of subscribers in no time, passing a hundred million individual subscriptions in March 2021 versus 86 million subscribers as of December 2020. But growth has begun to slow down in 2021, with the company reporting 118.1 million subscribers in October 2021.
In November 2021, Disney+ reported the fewest subscriber additions since launching two years ago. For starters, Disney+ has raised its prices by $1 in the US which could discourage would-be watchers from subscribing. The service is also facing cheaper subscriptions in markets like India and Indonesia.
And as Disney itself reported in a recent quarterly earnings release, the cost of running streaming service such as Disney+ adn ESPN+ has increased during the pandemic in terms of content production, marketing and technology.