Disney+ price rise: Streaming service increases prices by almost a third and threatens password crackdown

Efforts to reduce account sharing would follow Netflix

(AFP via Getty Images)

Disney will dramatically increase the price of its streaming service.

Disney+ prices will rise by as much as 27 per cent, with the company saying that it is facing a challenging market.

At the same time, the company will roll out an ad-supported tier in the UK, that will allow customers to subscribe for £4.99 per month.

And its chief executive, Bob Iger, said that next year it would be looking to launch a password sharing crackdown to attempt to force different households to have their accounts.

The moves follow similar changes at Netflix and other streaming services, many of which have recently launched price increases, ad-supported tiers and password sharing crackdowns of their own.

The introduction of the new ad-supported tier in the UK means that the price of access to Disney+ has dropped. Prices previously started at £7.99.

The new changes will also bring a new option, called Disney+ Standard, which will cost £7.99. That comes at the current price but removes options such as 4K streaming and the ability to stream on four devices at once.

The existing tier will become Disney+ Premium and cost £10.99 per month. If users do not opt out of that change, they will face a £3 per month price increase.

Similar price increases will go into effect elsewhere, across the US and Europe. In. the US, the price of Disney+ will rise up to 27 per cent, to $13.99 per month, and a similar rise will go into effect at Hulu.

Disney’s announcements came as it revealed its recent quarterly results, doing which chief executive Bob Iger acknowledged that the entertainment company faces a “challenging environment” in the near term. But he emphasized progress in cutting costs and focusing on creativity, even as quarterly results showed Disney‘s soft spots.

Disney’s stock rose nearly 3% in after-hours trading, as Iger touted $1 billion in operating-income improvement at the company’s streaming business over the last three quarters, which is aiming for profitability in 2024.

He said Disney will reduce the number of titles it releases and also the cost per title.

Disney said it cut losses at its streaming video services to $512 million in its fiscal third quarter from about $1.1 billion a year ago.

It added 800,000 Disney+ subscribers, 100,000 subscribers shy of analyst estimates, and shed 12.5 million subscribers to the Disney Hotstar service in India, or nearly a quarter of its subscribers, as it gave up rights to Indian Premiere League cricket matches.

“Disney will have to cut prices from current levels in an effort to stimulate demand and defend its market share in an increasingly competitive industry,” said Jesse Cohen, senior analyst at Investing.com.

Additional reporting by agencies