Just hours after the Walt Disney Company announced its late night talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” will return to broadcast network ABC, the company said it was raising the price of its streaming services — including one that carries the show.
On Tuesday, Disney affirmed it was moving forward with price hikes on its Hulu and Disney Plus services, along with some bundles that offer the two apps with its new streaming plan ESPN Unlimited.
The new prices of the streaming services are:
- Disney Plus with Hulu bundle: $13 per month with ads (previously $11 per month), $20 per month without ads.
- Disney Plus with Hulu and ESPN Select: $20 per month with ads (previously $17 per month) or $30 per month without ads (previously $27 per month). Neither plan includes ESPN Unlimited.
- Legacy Disney Plus without ads, Hulu and ESPN Select: $25 per month (previously $22 per month — no longer available to purchase)
- Disney Plus, Hulu and HBO Max: $20 per month with ads (previously $17 per month) or $33 per month without ads (previously $30 per month).
- Disney Plus: $12 per month with ads (previously $10 per month) or $19 per month without ads (previously $16 per month).
- Hulu: $12 per month with ads (previously $10 per month) or $120 per year with ads (previously $100 per year).
- Hulu Premium: $19 per month without ads.
The new prices take effect on October 21 for new customers, and after October 21 for existing customers when their monthly or annual renewal is billed.
The price hikes are par for the course for Disney: The company raises the cost of its streaming services about once per year, typically in the fall, around the start of the National Football League’s (NFL) season or just afterward.
Over the past week, Disney has been inundated with cancellation requests for both Disney Plus and Hulu after the company decided to pull Jimmy Kimmel’s late night talk show from ABC amid controversy over a politically-tinged monologue. The show streams on Hulu, and is available on Disney Plus when customers purchase a bundle that includes access to Hulu content.
Disney’s stock price has fallen 2.5 percent over the past five days while the company worked through the Kimmel controversy. Its stock price was dipped below $112 per share on news of the streaming price hikes before rebounding to its closing price by Tuesday afternoon.
While the company has been losing Disney Plus and Hulu subscribers over the past week, it might actually benefit from the return of Kimmel: Last week, two broadcasters — Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair, Inc. — said they would pull Kimmel’s show from their ABC affiliates, prompting the network to effectively do the same. Despite ABC’s reversal, Nexstar and Sinclair said this week they will continue to replace Kimmel’s show with expanded local newscasts. Viewers in those areas will have to watch the late night talk show on Hulu instead.
